What Peter Drucker Would Be Reading

08.21.2012 • By druckeradmin

Recent selections from around the web that, we think, would have caught Peter Drucker’s eye:

1. Why Showing Your Face at Work Matters: We keep dreaming of the virtual office, but then we realize: We’re just dreaming. In MIT Sloan Management Review, Kimberly Elsbach and Daniel Cable write that failing to be seen by your bosses in person is costly to you, regardless of the quality of your work. Your bosses fail to see all of your strengths, which is bad for both you and for them. The authors conclude: “The bottom line is that employees should be wary of work arrangements that reduce their office face time, and supervisors should be wary of using trait-based performance measures, especially when evaluating remote workers.”

2. How to Be Assertive (Without Losing Yourself): Being assertive isn’t easy for most of us, especially if we’re shy. And if we’re female, the obstacles (including societal expectations) to assertiveness can be even greater. But Amy Gallo, writing in the HBR Blog, says that being assertive is as much a practice as a trait. Just as there’s no single personality of a leader, there’s no single way to be assertive. So find your own style. Gallo notes: “You can change while still being true to who you are.”

3. Delayed Development: 20-Somethings Blame the Brain: Don’t be quite so discouraged to have a potato-chip-eating 25-year-old in your house on the couch, advises Melinda Beck in The Wall Street Journal. In another year or two, he or she will probably have a more fully formed brain that can provide a sense of direction and consistency. Being confused at 25 is common, but it starts to get better as you approach 30: “By then, the vast majority of emerging adults find work, relationships, along with higher self-esteem and life satisfaction, studies show.”

4. The Dx Comment of the Week: Yesterday, inspired by an op-ed by the head of the software company 37Signals, where employees work four-day weeks in the summer, we asked our readers if they’d be more productive with a shorter schedule. Reader Sergio had this to say:

As hyper-connected knowledge workers, we know well that a ‘shorter work week’ doesn’t necessarily mean employees are working less. 37Signals is a big contributor to open-source software. Its employees are most certainly using their days off (Saturday and Sunday as well) to continue their immense contribution in this space. In fact an individual’s contributions (software, blog, other) during ‘free time’ will be a significant factor in their getting hired.