Independent Command : The Concept of the Corporation Chapt 2

We are wandering away from technology here. Drucker is spending much of this chapter making the case for the special nature of industrial leadership. He notes that small business does not really provide a training ground for mid-level managers. In effect, they don’t have the right kind of experience to move into that kind of position. Leadership in one job does not translate into leadership skills for another kind of position.

I see that time and again in the software world. Skill with technology is not the same as skill with finance. Skill with finance is not the same as skill with politics. With words that presage the recent American presidential campaign, Drucker notes that we do not have a formal training program for presidential leaders. We tend to draw presidents from the ranks of senators and governors. The former, usually, do not have any experience with large-scale independent leadership. The latter have dealt with problems that almost never appear on a national level.