Page 152 - The Drucker Lectures

PART VI

1990s

n 1990, Peter Drucker published the book Managing the Nonprofit Or-
Iganization: Principles and Practices. Although best known for advis-
ing top executives from Sears, General Electric, Citicorp, and other major
corporations, Drucker also counseled numerous social-sector organiza-
tions such as the Girl Scouts, Salvation Army, and CARE. His advice was
wide ranging but, more than anything, he forced these organizations (and
many, many others) to tackle five fundamental questions that every en-
terprise—profit or nonprofit—should be required to answer: What is our
mission? Who is our customer? What does the customer value? What are
our results? What is our plan? Drucker had worked closely with nonprof-
its beginning in the 1940s. But his interest intensified over time as he
came to view the social sector as the sphere that “gives purpose, gives
direction.” Originally, Drucker had hoped that individuals would find these
qualities in their day jobs, through what he called the “plant community.”
But, as more and more factories closed and job security grew ever more
elusive, he conceded that “the plant community never took root.” This, in
turn, made nonprofits all the more crucial—not only for the recipients of
their services but for their volunteers as well. “Citizenship in and through
the social sector is not a panacea” for the problems that we face, Drucker
wrote in his 1993 book Post-Capitalist Society. “But it may be a prereq-
uisite for tackling these ills. It restores the civic responsibility that is the
mark of citizenship, and the civic pride that is the mark of community.”

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