“The productivity of knowledge and knowledge workers will not be the only competitive factor in the world economy. It is, however, likely to become the decisive factor, at least for most industries in the developed countries.”—Peter Drucker, “The Future That Has Already Happened”
Peter Drucker—born 100 years ago on this date in Vienna, Austria—is not only considered the father of modern management but also, I learned from an article in the Fall 2009 Bulletin of the Special Libraries Association’s Business and Financial Division, the first to use the term “knowledge worker.” As such, he is extremely important in my profession.
His first use of the term, back in the 1970s, illustrated how far ahead he could be of his time. In the 1950s, while American industry was still riding high, he provided, in effect, a blueprint for Japanese growth by calling for belief in the worker as an asset to a corporation that should be trusted.
By 1984, during the decade of greed, he was arguing that CEO pay was out of control. His stark warning then, about the growing managerial tendency to fire thousands even as their own earnings mushroomed, remains painfully relevant and piercingly honest today: “This is morally and socially unforgivable, and we will pay a heavy price for it."
Peter Drucker—born 100 years ago on this date in Vienna, Austria—is not only considered the father of modern management but also, I learned from an article in the Fall 2009 Bulletin of the Special Libraries Association’s Business and Financial Division, the first to use the term “knowledge worker.” As such, he is extremely important in my profession.
His first use of the term, back in the 1970s, illustrated how far ahead he could be of his time. In the 1950s, while American industry was still riding high, he provided, in effect, a blueprint for Japanese growth by calling for belief in the worker as an asset to a corporation that should be trusted.
By 1984, during the decade of greed, he was arguing that CEO pay was out of control. His stark warning then, about the growing managerial tendency to fire thousands even as their own earnings mushroomed, remains painfully relevant and piercingly honest today: “This is morally and socially unforgivable, and we will pay a heavy price for it."
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