One of my toughest challenges has always been managing people. I’m an innovator and entrepreneur who loves to tackle new challenges, but management has always bored me. Besides, people can be unlovable at times, and they always seem to have a pesky opinion.
Okay, so I’m not really that one dimensional. Or that cynical. Or that unkind. But it is true that management of people has never been a love of mine. Curiously, I’ve always been put in positions of management. So I have had to learn and grow — often haphazardly with lots of mistakes along the way.
It was in one of my college business classes that I discovered the wisdom of Peter Drucker. He was a legendary management guru even then, and his insights into human behavior within organizational structures has influenced millions of people. His thoughts on leadership, lifelong learning, and his self described role as “social ecologist” are remarkable.
Peter Drucker’s writings made me a better manager. For that matter, they made me a better person. He helped me understand how loving people is central to managing people, though I can never actually remember him writing that phrase. He certainly wrote about the importance of valuing people and leading by serving.
I’ve read many Drucker books over the years and they have all had an influence on me, so it was difficult to choose just one for this post. But I decided on Managing the Nonprofit Organization
Some might say this 22-year old book is no longer cutting edge. The sweeping changes in both the nonprofit and business world have been significant in the last two decades. On the other hand, the book contains timeless truths that will be helpful for decades. It is so good, Drucker set the standard for nonprofit management. I still recommend the book to aspiring nonprofit leaders, and I still pick it up every now and then to re-read it myself.
Drucker shaped my management and leadership style. This particular book helped me navigate through the cultural differences between the business that I operated as an owner and the nonprofits I led as a collaborator. I’ve worn those two hats for most of my adult life; it was helpful beyond words to find a simple book that helped me find the right balance.
For that reason, Managing the Nonprofit Organization is on the list of the 25 books that most influenced my life.
Want to read more of my top 25? Here is the list thus far:
Celebration of Discipline – #1
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – #2
The Cost of Discipleship – #3
The Screwtape Letters – #4
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – #5
Only the Paranoid Survive – #6
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – #7
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – #8
Truman – #9
Shantaram – #10
The Maltese Falcon – #11
The Shadow of the Wind – #12
Survey of the New Testament – #13
Calvin & Hobbes – #14
Celtic Daily Prayer – #15
Managing the Nonprofit Organization – #16
A Wrinkle in Time – #17
The Practice of the Presence of God – #18
Catch 22 – #19
The Tortilla Curtain – #20
The Kingdom of God is a Party – #21
Earthkeeping – #22
Reviving Ophelia – #23
The Grapes of Wrath – #24
Peanuts – #25