This all goes back to this self-awareness factor that we need to have in order to position ourselves for long-term success. 'Most people, especially highly gifted people, do not really know where they belong until they are well past their mid-twenties.'Īfter determining what some of our strengths are, the next item that we as individuals need to evaluate is ‘How do I perform?’ The quest of understanding you perform relates to the size of the organization that one chooses to work for (large or small), along with determining whether you are a decision maker or more of an advisor.

Drucker argues that the only way for us to capitalize on those choices is to know your strengths and then put yourself where your strengths can produce results. The challenge now is to figure out what that is and how we get there. We can do and become whatever it is that we desire and dream about. But in today’s world, people have choices. You were born into a position and a line of work – the blacksmith’s son would be a blacksmith, etc. Throughout human history, there wasn’t a real need to know our own individual strengths – simply because most people did not have a choice. 'Most people think they know what they are good at. Although a short read (55 pages in total), Managing Oneself has been hailed one of the most important business books of all time. Through what is discussed in this book, it’s Drucker’s aim to help us position ourselves to make the greatest contribution we can during our 40+ year working life. In Managing Oneself, Drucker outlines how to develop this self-awareness skill and learn how we can effectively manage ourselves. He was hailed by BusinessWeek as “the man who invented management”. Peter Drucker, the author of Managing Oneself, is not only a writer but a professor, management consultant and self-described “social ecologist”. However, this isn’t a skill that we necessarily learn in school, is it? So, how do some people innately have this ability to be self-aware, while others seem completely oblivious to it? Whether you are a business leader, coach or parent, this skill has the ability to make you a high achiever. Being self-aware is a valuable skill to have in any walk of life. Self-awareness is defined as a conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires. That, in large measure, is what makes them great achievers.' - Managing Oneself, page 1

'History’s great achievers – a Napoleon, a da Vinci, a Mozart – have always managed themselves.

Peter drucker managing yourself