Editor's Note

Development is always self-development. Said Peter F. Drucker "The responsibility for the development of employees of all kinds rests with the individual, her abilities, her efforts…"

But – and this is a big "but" – employees must be equipped with the appropriate self-management guidelines or methodologies to maximize their performance, productivity and ability to "switch tracks" from the rigid world of the fixed mindset to the open and receptive way of the growth mindset.

Priority #1: Manage Yourself and Then Your Organization

Said Peter F. Drucker:

“All management books, including those I have written, focus on managing other people… But you cannot manage other people unless you manage yourself first…

…Talent development is, foremost, dependent on how much you get out of the one resource that is truly under your own command and control – namely, yourself…

…Managing oneself, observed Drucker, “is a revolution in human affairs. It requires new and unprecedented things from the individual – especially, the knowledge worker… "

Indeed, it demands every knowledge worker think and behave as a manager/executive who must plan, do and control their own work.

Knowledge workers of all kinds are now held responsible for specific outcomes. And when they are held responsible, they act responsibly.

But to act responsibly requires self-management of the highest order.

More On Managing Oneself…

From Drucker's perspective, boredom, burnout and the tendency to become "an on-the-job-retiree" is a major problem with many knowledge workers.

Once they learn the best-kept secrets of how to continuously up-skill themselves through the practice of self-management, their productivity increases dramatically.

Self-Management Is an Acquired Management Skill

Said Edward Russo and Paul J. H. Schoemaker in their marvelous book Decision Traps:

“Good coaches help people realize their full potential… Sports coaches know the natural mistakes of untrained athletes and smart strategies for playing the game…

…They focus on a few key points – often simple points… Once you master these points your play improves immensely…"

Yet relatively few people have ever had systematic coaching in how to self-manage.

According to celebrated Mind Leadership guru Jeremy Hunter PhD, Professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management:

"The purpose of learning the practice of self-management is to enhance self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transformation – and fundamental to the entire process is to understand why "concentrated attention" is the foundation for self-management."

Perseverance Is Overrated

The teachings of Tony Robbins among many others stress: "Perseverance, the act of beating your head against the stone wall, is more likely to give you a headache than help you succeed."

You have to do the right things to succeed. Unrestrained hard work will do little or no good unless that work energy is expended in the right direction.

Says an old proverb:Practice does not make perfect; practice creates permanence.

So, be sure you are practicing the right things because as Peter Drucker once said: ‘Effectiveness is a habit, that is, a complex set of practices that must be practiced, practiced and practiced."

If you practice the wrong things, unlearning is much more difficult than learning how to do the right things and do them right.

Ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they are taught the right self-management habits/practices rather than depend on trial-and-error learning and self-discovery.

Thinking Smarter: The New Necessity

A college education never hurt anyone who was willing to learn something after he or she graduated. No one is too young or too old to learn.

We can literally force our brains to work in new and marvelous ways by adapting new thought patterns to help us make better decisions… ask the right questions… and continuously improve our individual (and corporate) productivity via the practice of self-management.

There is a built-in treasure chest in our heads. It contains the answers to billions of questions.

We have to learn how to get that treasure out of our heads, that is, how to make it an active part of our daily problem-solving.

We all need a self-management methodology – formal or informal – to make full use of our greatest asset, the ability to think.