Drumming “Drucker” in the Digital Age: Impacts and implications

IS Drucker applicable in the Digital age? Many raise this question about the most admired management thinker of our times. It is pertinent time to answer as we commemorate his twentieth death remembrance. He was born and died in November. To be precise, born on 19 November 1909, and died on 11 November 2005, his thoughts on being brilliant on basics of management have influenced millions. Today’s column reflects his relevance in modern days and times.

- By Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri

Overview

“There are no good or bad institutions but well-managed or ill-managed institutions.” The visionary statement by Drucker is applicable not only to institutions but to countries as well. We have seen that around the globe rise and fall of great nations based on the quality of their leadership. “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” I remember this powerful quote from him, every time I engage in a challenging consultancy. He has been a guiding light for me as a lifelong learner.

“Management by objective works - if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you do not.” I have seen the ironic reality of this brilliant quote from him when we set objectives without communicating them properly and promptly to those who are supposed to execute, paving the way for many blame games.

Drucker and digital era

"Technology is not about tools, it deals with how Man works,” said Drucker. He highlighted that technology's true impact is on human work and processes, not just the tools themselves. In today’s large-scale digitisation efforts, we see again that deeply human drive to forge ahead with new tools and ideas that are appealing. The best-led organisations are managing to strike a healthy balance between continuity and change. Harnessing technology in ways that respect the wisdom and energy that reside only in people, they are reasserting the human imperative.

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change; and the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn,” opined Drucker. His view on knowledge workers as the 21st century's most valuable asset is very much relevant to the digital age. He argued for “human augmentation,” not just automation, in using technology to enhance human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely.