Peter Drucker Quotes That Define Management & Leadership

Whether you are in leadership or just want some life advice, these Peter Drucker quotes will inspire and motivate you.

If you are a management professional, then you probably already know who Peter Drucker is.

If you aren’t, you might be wondering, “what is Peter Drucker best known for?”

Well, Peter Drucker was one of the first people to believe that management had a distinct philosophy with a unique function and that managers themselves had a specific responsibility.

He wrote many books on the subject and his work is used in management theory today.

Drucker was born in Austria and lived in Germany following WWI.

Next, he lived in London, married, and moved to The United States.

He became a naturalized citizen in 1943 and taught business at university level.

In 1971, he developed the first executive MBA program.

It is no wonder people often called him “the father of management thinking.” 

These Peter Drucker quotes will inspire and encourage you as you work through your professional and personal life.

Don’t forget to also check out these leadership quotes that will spark your fire.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quotes category page has all of our motivational quotes for all the different areas of life.

Peter Drucker quotes about technology and business

1. “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” — Peter Drucker

2. “Company cultures are like country cultures. Never try to change one. Try, instead, to work with what you’ve got.” — Peter Drucker

3. “Business, that’s easily defined – it’s other people’s money.” — Peter Drucker

4. “The computer is a moron.” — Peter Drucker

5. “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.” — Peter Drucker

6. “The new information technology… Internet and e-mail… have practically eliminated the physical costs of communications.” — Peter Drucker

7. “Few companies that installed computers to reduce the employment of clerks have realized their expectations… They now need more and more expensive clerks, even though they call them ‘operators’ or ‘programmers.” — Peter Drucker

8. “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.” — Peter Drucker

9. “We can say with certainty – or 90% probability – that the new industries that are about to be born will have nothing to do with information.” — Peter Drucker

10. “If analysis shows that someone’s brilliant work fails again and again as soon as cooperation from others is required, it probably indicates a lack of courtesy – that is, a lack of manners.” — Peter Drucker

11. “Manners are the lubricating oil of an organization. It is a law of nature that two moving bodies in contact with each other create friction. This is as true for human beings as it is for inanimate objects.” — Peter Drucker

12. “One thing is almost certain: in the future, there will be not one kind of corporation but several different ones.” — Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker quotes about leadership and management

13. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker

14. “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes.” — Peter Drucker

15. “So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.” — Peter Drucker

16. “Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.” — Peter Drucker

17. “Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” — Peter Drucker

18. “No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.” — Peter Drucker

19. “Management by objective works – if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don’t.” — Peter Drucker

20. “The productivity of work is not the responsibility of the worker, but of the manager.” — Peter Drucker

21. “Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs.” — Peter Drucker

22. “As the corporation moves towards a confederation or a syndicate, it will increasingly need a top management that is separate, powerful, and accountable. This top management’s responsibilities will cover the entire organization’s direction, planning, strategy, values, and principles; its structure and its relationship between its various members; its alliances, partnerships, and joint ventures; and its research, design, and innovation.” — Peter Drucker

23. “An equally important task for top management in the next society’s corporation will be to balance the three dimensions of the corporation: as an economic organization, as a human organization, and as an increasingly important social organization.” — Peter Drucker

Wise Peter Drucker quotes about life

24. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Peter Drucker

25. “People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” — Peter Drucker

What did you learn from these Peter Drucker quotes?

Peter Drucker is near to my heart, as I hold a Master of Science in Management and Leadership.

One of my biggest pet peeves in today’s business world is that people who have no business managing anyone are put in these roles as a reward for seniority or doing their job well.

Then the organization leaves them there to figure out how to lead people.

Most do not receive the training and knowledge they need to be successful or help their subordinates become successful.

It essentially sets everyone up for failure. 

If companies would invest more in teaching their leaders how to be leaders, they would see much better results.

As Peter Drucker mentioned, corporations have to pay attention.

Sadly, they are often focused on the wrong things and miss the bigger picture that the role of management has on their organization.

If you would like to learn more about management theory and Peter Drucker, check out his article, The American CEO.

What’s your biggest takeaway from these Peter Drucker quotes and sayings?

Do you have any other favorite quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.