New York City Drucker Days

After my Peter Drucker-related presentations in Claremont earlier this month, I went to New York last week for three speaking engagements: for SLA NYC (held at METRO headquarters), at Baruch College and for the London Business School Club of New York. I was honored to be associated with all these organizations, if only for a short period of time. I met many interesting people at all three events: students, professors, librarians and business people. Baruch College was a particular revelation: a super-vibrant school with highly diverse students. I did not previously know a lot about Bernard Baruch, the alum whom the school was named for. I discovered that he was somewhat Drucker-like, and not just because a school of higher education was named after him. Although they were in different professions, both lived intentional lives of purpose. And both thought about how their work had ramifications beyond themselves, to the world at large. In particular, I was struck by Baruch’s advice – similar to Drucker’s — to take time for self-reflection and contemplation, no matter how busy you are. The London Business School event was on November 11; the fifth anniversary of Drucker’s death. And it was appropriate to go from Claremont, where Drucker lived from 1971 until his death in 2005; to New York, where he lived for many years prior. He taught at New York University, and wrote many of his most important books during those years. The city is also home to the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management), and the Drucker Society of New York City. Last year I did a “fireside chat” with Leader to Leader President and Chief Executive Officer Frances Hesselbein (who wrote the foreword to my book Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life), for the Drucker Society, my only New York event until last week. I left in an energized state of mind, looking forward to more presentations there in 2011.