What Makes an Effective Executive

"Great managers may be charismatic or dull, generous or tightfisted, visionary or numbers oriented. But every effective executive follows eight simple practices." -Peter F. Drucker
An effective executive does not need to be a leader in the sense that the term is now most commonly used. Harry Truman did not have one ounce of charisma, for example, yet he was among the most effective chief executives in U.S. history. Similarly, some of the best business and nonprofit CEOs Drucker has worked with over his 65-year consulting career were not stereotypical leaders. They were all over the map in terms of their personalities, attitudes, values, strengths, and weaknesses. They ranged from extroverted to nearly reclusive, from easygoing to controlling, from generous to parsimonious.
What made them all effective is that they followed the same six practices:
1. They asked, "What needs to be done?"
2. They asked, "What is right for the enterprise?"
3. They developed action plans.
4. They took responsibility for decisions.
5. They took responsibility for communicating.
6. They were focused on opportunities rather than problems.
This concise audiobook is based on Mr. Drucker's summary of The Effective Executive done at the request of Harvard Business Reviewand is now one of their best selling published works. This article is a perfect way to learn about the subject broadly in a short period of time. Unlike many articles of this kind, summarizing a book's contents, this article was written and crafted by the author himself. The Audiobook has nine tracks. 1. Introduction. 2. Get the Knowledge You Need. 3. Write an Action Plan. 4. Act. 5. Take Responsibility for Decisions. 6. Take Responsibility for Communicating. 7. Focus on Opportunities. 8. Make Meetings Productive. 9. Think and Say "We."