Managing Oneself

Must read for all executives striving for excellence and impact in their daily life. Useful learnings to make desired impact.

This book gives only one but a great technique which could help you out in getting the feedback on how successful you are in achieving your personal goals. Can be read in one go. Only 56 pages.

Yes, I know this small book (rather a "booklet" really) is available for download on internet, but as I prefer physical book over a virtual one, I got the paperback. Peter Drucker was a famous management consultant and an eminent management writer in Harvard Business Review magazine. This short piece of writing was originally published previously in the same magazine and considered a classic now. The short essay will give you a framework and various tools to recognize your potential and reorganize your strengths that will guide you through your life, both in your professional as well as personal endeavor. The advices presented here are written in a crisp manner, which will suit even for someone who doesn't prefer "self-help" genre. The explanation is straightforward and practical, which you could implement immediately. Read it if you have some concern with managing yourself, or want to learn the skill-set to recognize your best individual version. Have a good day.

The content of the book is good but I have analysed many aspects already as such thinking of others too exist like me. I specially like the 2nd life part. I have thought about it earlier but the analysis in the book has added something to my stack.

I happened to read it out of my interest in its title. As there is no perfect path set for managing oneself, the book comes with its diminutive but orderly explanation of Knowing your strengths, how to learn- perform-contribute. Also talks about second half of your professional life . Interesting!!

It's a very Short and precise harvard business review. It wont even take you more than an hour to complete this short book if you're an average reader. But it's a really nice book . you'll get some great insights on how you can analyse yourself and to get on the perfect career path. It's very short and precise which is why i like this book. A must read.

Great book. Straight to the point. Just felt it to be over priced for the book size.

Great, timeless advice from Peter Drucker. However, please be advised that this is just a single article, and not really a book. It has been made into a book with great difficulty. Small dimension, large line spacing, huge margins etc. See the pictures other users have posted. You may get better value by finding a book which has a compilation of HBR articles.

Excelente. Livro maravilhoso. Uma pérola no que se refere ao autoconhecimento e autodesenvolvimento. Vale ler e tomar notas. Colocar em prática. Pois são dicas para a vida. Muda totalmente nossa maneira de encarar nossos pontos fortes e deficiências.

El libro te permite reflexionar en aspectos básicos para tu desarrollo personal y profesional. No hay que intentar ser bueno en todo, ya que entonces seremos mediocres en todo.

Short read but a very very good read! Its like a bible for self-improvement lol I have scribbled all over the book with notes and highlighters! A great, short and very informative read to add to your collection

This booklet is an excellent start and guide for the adventure of managing oneself. Drucker provides rare examples of well-known historic figures who managed themselves, e.g. Napoleon, da Vinci, Mozart. These examples show that there is a difference between self-management and successful self-management. Kierkegaard, Drucker’s most preferred philosopher, taught us that we have to live our lives forward and understand it only backward, in the hindsight. The famous Abraham H. Maslow wrote in his book “Motivation and Personality” first published in 1954 that according to extensive experiments probably 5% to 30% of the population in USA are making their own decisions which is a key indicator for self-management. If we sharpen the question to “how many are applying systematic self-management” the percentage is pretty low. At the same time young people, adult people and even people moving towards retirement need self-management skills without knowing where to get it and how to apply it. Very often famous self-help books are more esoteric and spiritual compared to techniques derived from proven practices of management. Drucker recommends the following steps: Identify and develop your strengths with regular reviews within 9-12 months and subsequent tuning. According to Drucker such a feedback analysis is by no means new, it was invented in the 14th century and applied by John Calvin and Ignatius of Loyola 150 years later. Analyze how do you perform, e.g. are you a reader or listener? Find out how to do you learn, because teachers do not know that for every person, every person is different. You have to transform what is taught into your personal learning system. One of the best ways to learn is teaching including the feedback analysis. Define and sharpen your value system. Drucker recommends the mirror test: “I refuse to see a pimp in the mirror in the morning when I shave.” You should avoid working in an organization or in an environment which is contrary to your values and principles. It is important to know where you belong and where you do not belong. It is closely linked with your value system. Understand and develop your contributions – what is expected from you and what do you consider as your best possible contribution. Strive for performance and wherever possible for excellence. Take responsibility for your relationships. Freedom without responsibility does not work. As you expect that your environment takes care of you, you have to care about your specific environment. Freedom and responsibility are mutually intertwined. Prepare yourself for the second half of your life, be on time. The lead time is longer than you think. My experience is: 10-15 years. Drucker describes several ways how to do it. According to my experiences this is an excellent agenda to start with. Peter Drucker provides details of his personal development resp. self-management in his excellent book “Managing the Non-Profit-Organization” published in 1990. In his excellent book “Management – Revised Edition – revised and updated by Joseph Maciariello” published in 2008, three years after Peter Drucker passed away, you find updates in Part X – New Demands on the Individual. There are other serious sources I can recommend in addition to this book: How to get Control of your Time and your Life by Alan Lakein, How will you measure your Life by Prof. Clayton M. Christensen, Total Leadership by Prof. Stewart Friedman and See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar. Philosophical views are excellently covered by Seneca in his essay “On the shortness of life”, by Marc Aurel in his “Meditations”, by Balthasar Gracian in his “Art of worldly wisdom”, by Khalil Gibran in his “Prophet” and by Antoine de Saint Exupery in his “The Little Prince”.

An excellent short essay by Peter Drucker. To the point, with a lot of foresight of what would be implied by the developing know Edge economy, and the recognition of the importance to “play your strengths”.