The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary humans beings to do extraordinary things.
Peter DruckerRead
A business is not defined by its name, statutes, or articles of incorporation. It is defined by the business mission. Only a clear definition of the mission and purpose of the organization makes possible clear and realistic business objectives.
Interpretation
A business's identity lies in its mission rather than its legal structure.
Peter Drucker's quote emphasizes that the essence of a business is not found in its formal name or legal documents, but rather in the mission and objectives it strives to achieve. A well-defined mission provides clarity and direction, enabling an organization to set realistic goals and effectively navigate its purpose in the marketplace.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a business seminar to inspire entrepreneurs.
The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary humans beings to do extraordinary things.
In the Western tradition, we have focused on teaching as a skill and forgotten what Socrates knew: teaching is a gift, learning is a skill.
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.
The basic economic resource - the means of production -_x000D_ _x000D_ is no longer capital, nor natural resources, nor labor._x000D_ _x000D_ It is and will be knowledge.
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes... but no plans.
The strength of the computer lies in its being a logic machine. It does precisely what it is programed to do. This makes it fast and precise. It also makes it a total moron; for logic is essentially stupid.
Time is the friend of the wonderful business. It's the enemy of the lousy business. If you're in a lousy business for a long time, you're going to get a lousy result, even if you buy it cheap. If you're in a wonderful business for a long time, even if you pay a little too much going in, you're going to get a wonderful result if you stay in a long time.
My half-baked reading of history is that we continue to go through these waves of entrepreneurial explosion followed by merger mania and consolidation. Out of that come big sluggish companies that eventually collapse under the weight of what they've created, and are killed off by the next wave of entrepreneurs.
We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want.
The real challenge in crafting strategy lies in detecting subtle discontinuities that may undermine a business in the future. And for that there is no technique, no program, just a sharp mind in touch with the situation.
There are two kinds of businesses: The first earns 12%, and you can take it out at the end of the year. The second earns 12%, but all the excess cash must be reinvested - there's never any cash. It reminds me of the guy who looks at all of his equipment and says, 'There's all of my profit.' We hate that kind of business.
Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.
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