funso Adegbola

BOOK REVIEW by Babafunso Adegbola (Ed. D) Drucker, Peter F., and Jim Collins. The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization (New ed). New York: Leader to Leader Institute, 2008. Introduction: The book focuses on the five fundamental questions originally by Peter F. Drucker; it dives into an organization’s reason for being, including how it develops an intimate understanding of the customer and what the customer values. According to the authors, an assessment provides the tools for understanding how well the organization is doing, ending with a measurable, results-focused strategic plan to further the mission and achieve specific goals. . Along the way, the book takes numerous detours into further analysis, thought and introspection. Content: These resources which are properly packaged provide a valuable lens through which an organization can gain a more accurate assessment of its effectiveness. Each of the book’s five questions is illustrated by a typically insightful narrative from the author. The five questions, What Is Our Mission? Who Is Our Customer? What Does the Customer Value? What Are Our Results? What Is Our Plan? All are great questions that are ever green in the heart of genuine transformers in organizations. Each question is mounted on top of the other and automatically opens doors to further questions and assessment. Equally important was the author’s ability to engage the profit and social sectors and the ability to recognize poor management practices that cut across organizations and corporations. This is important because as Drucker observes, “To have an effective mission, you have to work out an exacting match of your opportunities, competence and commitment. Every good mission statement reflects all three. “You look first at the outside environment. The organization that starts from the inside and then tries to find places to put its resources is going to fritter itself away. (p. 14) Application: This book is a tool for self-assessment and transformation, answering these five questions will fundamentally change the way you work, leading an organization to an exceptional level of performance. I personally enjoyed reading the book and will definitely recommend it for all. I also like the mannerism in which the purpose and usefulness of the book is stated in the forward. “It is often said that the simple questions are the hardest to answer. … Simple questions can be profound, and answering them requires us to make stark and honest and sometimes painful self-assessments. (xi) This book is designed to be used for organizational strategic self-assessment, not for program assessment or for an individual performance review. (xii-xiii) The ultimate beneficiaries of this very simple process are the people or customers touched by your organization and by others like you who have made the courageous decision to look within yourselves and your organization, identify strengths and challenges, embrace change, foster innovation, accept and respond to customer feedback, look beyond the organization for trends and opportunities, encourage planned abandonment, and demand measurable results. (xiii)