This is based on Peter F Drucker's book titled "Management Challenges For The 21st Century"

1. Career Management Challenges
Based On “Management Challenges
for the 21st Century”
By
Peter F Drucker
Compiled By Kiran_Ks@Hotmail.com

2. 1. Knowledge Economy
Today we live in knowledge economy. Goods
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and services are mainly knowledge based
A knowledge worker* is a person employed due to
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his or her knowledge of a subject matter, rather
than their ability to perform manual labor. (*a term
coined by Peter Drucker)
Imperatives for the Knowledge Worker
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I should know myself and my values
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I should know how best I perform, how to be productive in
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the 50 year (avg) work life
I should know how I work with others
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How my work can make the greatest contribution
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3. 1. Knowledge Economy
Work Out: (about 15min)
How best I perform? (Write down three events /situations where you
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performed your best)?
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How I work with others? (write briefly how you worked with others in your
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prev. assignments?)
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How my work can make the greatest contribution (note down when you got
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the best support from your team and you contributed best?)
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4. 2. Play From Strengths
Centuries ago life, work and industry were all
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simple and not knowledge intensive.
Jobs of artisans, peasants, clerks passed on within
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families.
In today's world (workplace) I need to know
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What are my strengths (what am I good at)?
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What are my weakness (what am I not good at)?
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I should work on my strengths and try to improve it
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(contd.)

5. 2. Play From Strengths
Work Out Sheet (15 min)
What are my strengths (what am I good at)?
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What are my weakness (what am I not good at)?
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Describe how you can work on your strengths and try to improve it?
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6. 3. Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysis helps find out one's strength
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Make a note of key decisions, key actions taken
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12 or 18 months later find out what was the result.
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“80% of the time you will be surprised!”
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Most knowledge workers DO NOT know their
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strengths (and weakness) but they think they do!
Knowledge and skill gaps can be filled as we go
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along.
Conclusion: Find your strengths, concentrate on
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it and improve it.
(contd.)

7. 3. Feedback Analysis
Work Out (15 min ) and Recommended On An Going Basis
Make a note of key decisions, key actions taken in the last 1 year and note
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down the outcome and results (without tagging it as good or bad).
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Write down the knowledge and skill gaps that would have changed the key
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outcome and key results.
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Conclusion: Find your strengths, concentrate on it and improve it.
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8. Feed back Analysis (Contd.)
(take care of) Arrogance coming from strength
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It affects and inhibits effectiveness.
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Mannerism, courtesy and discipline are all very
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important just like lubricant in a machinery.
DO NOT waste time when performance is
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mediocre.
Even after a lot of effort incompetence “improves” to
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become mediocre.

9. Feed back Analysis (Contd.)
Work Out (15min)
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Note down your strengths leading to arrogance and negligence arising out of
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overconfidence.
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Note down how it affected and inhibited your effectiveness.
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Note down 3 key events when your mannerism, courtesy and discipline
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helped to achieve positive results.
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Note down 3 key events when your mannerism, courtesy and discipline
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helped to achieve positive results.
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Note down when you wasted time and effort trying to improve from
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incompetence to become mediocre in performance.
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10. 4. How Do I perform?
How do I perform?
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Few people know how to get things done as to
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make their contribution happen
Knowledge workers have unique personalities.
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Are you a Reader Or a Listener?
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We are either Readers or Listeners (mostly)
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Problems come up If we ignore this fact and also
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interact with others we do not know If they are
readers or Listeners.
(contd.)

11. 4. How Do I perform?
Work Out (15 min)
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How do I perform? (list things that requires you to get started and to
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complete the task to produce good results) a) individually b) in organization.
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Are you a Reader Or a Listener mostly?
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What jobs are easy for you being mostly a reader or a listener?
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What jobs are difficult for you being mostly a reader or a listener?
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12. 5. How Do I Learn?
How do I learn?
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There are many many ways by which one learns by
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doing, reading, listening, discussing, by taking
copious notes etc.
Knowing how you learn is most important to be
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effective.
Working with people effectively.
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One normally works best either as a commander or
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as a subordinate / team member.
Some work alone best (scientists, poets, artists)
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13. 5. How Do I Learn?
Work Out (15min)
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How do I learn? (such as by doing, reading, listening, or through discussion)
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How effective am I working with people (Scale of 1 - 5 most effective) [ how
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do you plan to improve working with people ]
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Do you work best as a commander or a subordinate? (not what you wish but
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how actually you work)
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14. 5. How Do I Learn (Contd.)
Do I work effectively as an adviser or as a
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decision maker.
If you are an adviser do not take assignments or
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jobs leading to decision making.
Do I work best under structured environment or
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in uncertain (unknown) situations?
Do I work best under stress or relaxed
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environment.?
DO NOT try to change yourself. Work hard to
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find how you can create the environment where
you can work best.

15. 5. How Do I Learn (Contd.)
Work Out (15 min)
Do you work effectively as an adviser or as a decision maker?
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Do you work best under structured environment or in uncertain (unknown)
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situations?
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Do you work best (perform well) under stress or relaxed environment?
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( DO NOT try to change yourself. Work hard to find how you can create the
environment where you can work best.)

16. 6. What Are My Values?
What are my values*? (*not to be confused with
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ethics)
Simple test - “what kind of a person I like to see in
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the mirror in the morning?”
If value system in the Org. does not match
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performance is affected and frustration will occur.
This is a fundamental compatibility factor and not
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an issue of Policy. (Org Policy comes next).
Oreg value – is what view company has of it's
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people.
(contd.)

17. 6. What Are My Values?
Work Out (15min)
What are my values*? (*not to be confused with ethics)
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Mirror test: What kind of a person I like to see in the mirror in the morning?
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What organization values you look for in your company?
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18. 6. What Are My Values?
Long Term or Short Term
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Running companies (Org) on LT or ST is a value
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conflict and not entirely economics.
For erg., a church (Org.) decides that increase in
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the no. of parishioners as a measure of success.
Another church (Org.) regards the spiritual growth
of the attendees as a measure of success.
What you do successfully and what are your
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values can be at conflict.
Peter Drucker did quite well in banking and as a
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writer in London but his values were different which
brought him to the US.

19. 6. What Are My Values?
Work Out (10min)
What are your long term and short term goals (in your current career)?
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What you do successfully although it may not reflect your values? (this is
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import for short term career goals)
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20. 7. Where Do I Belong?
Where do I belong?
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Only a small no. of people know this early on (in
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their career). For erg., musicians, cooks,
mathematicians know early on where they belong.
Most people are not clear until they are late 20s.
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Three important questions to ask.
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1. What are my strengths?
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2. How do I perform?
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3. What are my values?
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(contd.)

21. 7. Where Do I Belong?
Work Out (15min)
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Where do I belong? (think slowly and clearly....)
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1. What are my strengths? And where does it fit into?
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2. How do I perform? And how it helps me in finding where I belong?
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3. What are my values? And how it can help in clarifying where I belong?
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22. 8. What Should I Contribute?
Long ago, it was handed over by work-masters,
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top brass.
There was no need to ask the question what should I
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contribute till recently in industry (60s).
Then it all changed; People changed to the idea of “do
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your own thing” and “what I want to do?”
Three (3) elements can address this question
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1. What does the situation require?
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2. With my strengths, values, way of working how
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can I contribute?
3. What results have to be achieved to make a
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difference?

23. 8. What Should I Contribute?
Work Out (10min)
1. What does the situation require (in your current / future job)?
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2. With my strengths, values, way of working how can I contribute?
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3. What results have to be achieved to make a difference? (in your current /
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future assignment)
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24. 9. Responsibility For Relationships
People are effective with others (in teams)
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With a few exceptions like a musical prodigy or a
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mathematician who works by himself /herself.
In teams knowledge worker should realize
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others also have their unique strengths and
values.
Bosses tend to think people as stupid, incompetent
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without knowing well the workers' unique strengths
and values.
The secret is to find out how they perform / work.
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The reverse is also true, for subordinates to find out
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how their boss works / performs.

25. 9. Responsibility For Relationships
Work Out (10 min)
What kind of people you are most effective with?
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What is your approach to find out how your BOSS performs and what are
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her unique strengths?
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What is your approach to find out how others perform and what are their
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unique strengths at work?
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26. 10. How Do I Communicate?
Managing Communications
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Personality conflicts arise due to lack of / bad
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communications or “comm-gaps”.
In teams, most people do not know what others are
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working (concentrating on). This is simply because
they did not ask.
Different people have different responsibilities;
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Make sure (to know) what others are doing. How it
adds value.
Knowledge worker should never hesitate to ask
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27. 10. How Do I Communicate?
Work Out (10min)?
How do you rate yourself in your general communication (1 – 5)?
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How do you rate yourself in your work (office) communication (1 – 5)?
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How do you communicate your values to your boss and team members?
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Do you maintain an open mindset and resolve conflict without cutting off
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communication channels with one and all?
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Do you feel free to ask and clarify without assuming at work?
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Notes:
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28. 11. Second Half Of Your Life
Knowledge workers are re-born after the age of
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45 years.
20s years of doing the same things leads to “no
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satisfaction” and “no fulfillment”.
Knowledge worker should manage oneself
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1. Moving from one kind of organization to another
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2. Develop a parallel career / non-profit / local
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community organizations.
3. Social entrepreneurship – many are successful in
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their 1st career but it is no longer fulfilling.
(Contd.)

29. 11. Second Half Of Your Life
Work Out ( 15 min)
If you are about 45 (+/- 5) years of age, are you happy about your career?
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What is your dream career (fulfilling – one that gives satisfaction)?
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What is your plan / thinking about your Career2.0? (brain storm)
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30. 11. Second Half Of Your Life
nd
You must begin (transition) long before 2
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career.
Expect set backs and failures
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But move forward (because initial failures are
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expected)

31. 12. Managing Yourself
Knowledge worker must manage oneself
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He/she must think and behave as a CEO.
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Knowledge Worker is an executive and is
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mobile and is creating a revolution.
* the end *

32. References
This is a compilation of practice notes of the book titled
“Management Challenge For The 21st Century”. Copyright©
1999 by Peter F. Drucker. (Publisher: Collins Business).
This is not a reproduction of the book in any form. Authenticity of
information is not claimed.
* the end *