Tuesday, October 2
Business 2.0 - Web Article - The Peter Drucker Interview -- Unabridged Why are so many management thinkers also consultants?
Fifty-five years ago, I said no to the Harvard Business School. One of the main reasons was the then-dean laid down the rule that faculty could only have one day a week consulting. He had a problem with faculty spending more time off campus. To me, management is a practice, and a practitioner needs a practice. I look at my consulting practice as my laboratory. Before World War II, there were almost no graduate schools of business. There were only schools of commerce. And now there are more than 600. And it grew so fast that faculties now have almost no practical experience. Now that this rapid explosion is flattening out, I hope they will learn that they should have consulting services just as in medical school, where you can bring the patient into the classroom. You can't do that in management school, so you have to go out and get your practical experience as a consultant.
Fifty-five years ago, I said no to the Harvard Business School. One of the main reasons was the then-dean laid down the rule that faculty could only have one day a week consulting. He had a problem with faculty spending more time off campus. To me, management is a practice, and a practitioner needs a practice. I look at my consulting practice as my laboratory. Before World War II, there were almost no graduate schools of business. There were only schools of commerce. And now there are more than 600. And it grew so fast that faculties now have almost no practical experience. Now that this rapid explosion is flattening out, I hope they will learn that they should have consulting services just as in medical school, where you can bring the patient into the classroom. You can't do that in management school, so you have to go out and get your practical experience as a consultant.
