Peter Drucker

The faith of Peter Drucker

There’s been plenty written about the management ideas and legacy of Peter Drucker, and Drucker himself has written over 38 books, but not as much about his faith. This page will feature his faith, though he very much demonstrated his faith by his works. And, perhaps, that’d be a better approach for living out the Christian faith for more people. Be sure to get the new forthcoming book about the brilliant insights of Peter Drucker, The Definitive Drucker by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim.

First, take a look at my blog post What Peter Drucker said about pastors and churches, from the most recent book, “Drucker & Me: What a Texas Entrepreneur Learned from the Father of Modern Management

In his own words, from a radio interview (8/2005):

Well, I happen to be a very conventional, traditional Christian. Period! And I don’t think about it. I am told! It’s not my job to think about it. My job is to say, “Yes, Sir.”

In a sermon by Pastor Rick Warren (February 2017):

[in response to Rick’s question, “when did you find Christ, put your faith in Jesus,” Peter answered,] “.. when I finally understood the concept of grace, I knew I was gonna never get a better deal…”

Excerpt from PETER DRUCKER, PHD: WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL STEWARDSHIP PREACHER, by Gary Moore, with Introduction By The Rev. Dr. David W. Miller, Yale Center for Faith & Culture:

The world will long remember Dr. Drucker as the world’s foremost management guru. . . . But I’ll always remember him as a simple preacher of holistic stewardship . . . about managing time, talents and treasure, or living the faithful life that everyone believes in. Dr. Drucker essentially assumed the responsibility of teaching the subject as it was understood by biblical prophets.
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Peter taught us to develop a hopeful but humble spirit; one that might encourage all Christ’s disciples to work without growing weary, even if the hard reality is that we can never produce the happy ending of an entertaining Hollywood movie. For as Mother Teresa also taught us, God never calls us to success, significance or purpose; only to loving faithfulness in our responsibilities, both individual and social.

Peter Drucker cover story

Excerpted from The Man Who Invented Management (Business Week, November 28, 2005):

… Drucker, raised a Protestant . . . In his later years, as his health weakened, so did Drucker’s magnetic pull. Although he maintained a coterie of corporate followers, he increasingly turned his attention to nonprofit leaders, from Frances Hesselbein of the Girl Scouts of the USA to Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life, considered Drucker a mentor. “Drucker told me: ‘The function of management in a church is to make the church more churchlike, not more businesslike. It’s to allow you to do what your mission is,”‘ Warren said. “Business was just a starting point from which he had this platform to influence leaders of all different kinds.”

From Business Week’s Readers Report (12/19/05):

You note that Drucker was a teacher of religion and focused his later work on nonprofits, but there is something more explicit in his belief system: Drucker was a practicing Christian. He recognized that today’s pastoral or “megachurches” are, in his words, “the most important social phenomenon in American society in the past 30 years.” In the early 1990s he told religious leaders that the key question for churches is, “Can we create enough disciples?” While Drucker may have been Ronald Reagan-like in that he was not one to publicly declare his religious beliefs, from his famous humility to his desire to make a difference in people’s lives, clearly Peter Drucker’s Christian faith was a guiding source of truth in his life and work. — Bill Getch, Roswell, Ga.

Peter Drucker’s definition of innovation = “innovation is change that creates a new level of performance