The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary humans beings to do extraordinary things.
Peter DruckerRead
The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its production equipment. The most valuable assets of a 21st-century institution, whether business or nonbusiness, will be its knowledge, workers, and their productivity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The value of a modern organization lies in its knowledge and human resources rather than physical assets.
Peter Drucker's quote emphasizes the shift in what constitutes value in organizations from the 20th century to the 21st century. In the past, tangible assets like production equipment were seen as the backbone of a company's worth. However, in today's economy, the emphasis has transitioned towards intangible assets such as the knowledge, skills, and productivity of employees, suggesting that intellectual capital and human resources are now paramount for success.
Themes
KnowledgeProductivityWorkersAssetsBusiness
In practice
Example use cases
In a business seminar, I would use this quote to illustrate the importance of investing in employee development.
More from Peter Drucker
All quotes →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.
Peter DruckerRead
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.
Peter DruckerRead
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.
Peter DruckerRead
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes... but no plans.
Peter DruckerRead
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.
Peter DruckerRead
Similar quotes
Business plans are the tool existing companies use for execution. They are the wrong tool to search for a business model.
Steve BlankRead
In business, you're trying to make a buck. God was good to me and blessed me. I made some money and started this foundation years ago, and it has grown in size. With the foundation it's a lot different, because the bottom line isn't how you can make more money or get a better return, it's helping the projects that you feel strongly about move forward.
Lee IacoccaRead
I find it fascinating that a lot of business books that do well are from people who've never made any money in business.
Gary VaynerchukRead
CEOs are paid for doing a terrible job. If the system wasn't so messed up, guys like me wouldn't make this kind of money.
Carl IcahnRead
Access to talented and creative people is to modern business what access to coal and iron ore was to steel-making.
Richard FloridaRead
What makes us so often discontented with those who transact business for us is that they almost always abandon the interest of their friends for the interest of the business, because they wish to have the honor of succeeding in that which they have undertaken.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead