Drucker Days in Claremont

I’ve just returned from several days in Claremont, Ca., based around the activities for Drucker Centennial Day, which marked the end of a two-year period honoring the life and legacy of Peter Drucker. November 19 is the 101st anniversary of his birth, and he died five years ago this coming November 11. The events were produced by the Drucker Institute at the Claremont Graduate University, home of the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management. The alternately rousing and introspective keynote on Saturday morning was delivered by Tom Peters. I helped coordinate the Drucker Authors Festival segment, and was on the panel “Lessons From Drucker’s Life,” with Jack Beatty and William Cohen. “What Would Drucker Do Now?” had  Jorge Vasconcellos e Sá, Winfried Weber and Gladius Kulothungan; and “Drucker in Historical Context” had Joe Maciariello, Jack Bergstrand and Mike Wood.

Although I did not see Kenneth Hopper’s presentation “Turning the World Upside Down,” I was fortunate to have seen the presentation he did with his brother Will Hopper last Thursday, for the Drucker School students, based on their book The Puritan Gift. Other than Cohen, Weber and Maciariello, I had not met the other Drucker-related authors in person before, and getting to know them, and the Hoppers, was a highlight. I also did my own presentation, Designing Your Total Life the Peter Drucker Way, at the Drucker School on Friday morning. It was great to meet new friends who attended, as well as to reconnect with friends from my previous times in Claremont. We had a stimulating impromptu discussion afterwards. The centennial may be over, but the Drucker Institute has a number of promising things in the pipeline, including several more books. The Drucker School is growing and gaining more attention. Both institutions continue to not only honor, but to extend and deepen Peter Drucker’s legacy.