Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker
In the modern world, people are responsible for their own professional development and success.
The world is very different from how it was just one generation ago. In the past, workers were only ever given one role – they faithfully stuck to this path, climbed the ladder, and enjoyed their deserved retirement. Simple.
Today, in order to attain success, ‘knowledge workers’ must not only have the skills necessary to do the work at hand, but also the ability manage other people. However, the most important thing they need to learn, is how to manage themselves. Not so simple.
Managing oneself involves taking responsibility for one’s own actions and reactions to others. It involves taking responsibility for one’s communication and the responses to the communication of others. This can take on many forms.
Some people are natural writers and some people are natural listeners. Coincidentally, by reading this book, I discovered that I am a listener. I can easily consume 3-4 audiobooks per week, and retain the information within it. This is not so with written books at all.
Knowing how we operate is extremely important, as it enables us to work to your strengths. One can only accomplish great work from places of strength.
Unfortunately, most of us don’t know what we’re good at. Most of us don’t even really know what we’re not good at.
‘Know Thyself’ is an adage which has been repeated since Socrates, and remains one of most powerful and effective pieces of advice for personal development. This book is an informative guide on how to figure out what you’re good at as well as how to discover your weaknesses.
Self knowledge, discipline control are truly valuable skills to learn, if we are to make positive changes in the world.
We just need to begin with ourselves.