Peter Drucker, celebrated as the man who “invented” management, once said, “Talent is the most difficult core competency for competitors to copy. Appointing and developing the right people in an organization will shape and change workplace culture and drive successful outcomes. The more the organization grows, the more the individual can grow. The more the individual in an organization grows, as a person, the more the organization can accomplish.”
Having the right people in an organization — a task achieved by understanding each individual’s capabilities, attitudes, and values and developing them — makes it easier for employees to contribute and find meaning in their work. This approach is gaining steam as companies adopt skills-based hiring and talent development practices, and as individuals become more open to new and individualized educational pathways that allow them to adapt to changing market needs.
To bring these ideas to life, the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF) has partnered with the Drucker Institute to launch Doing the Right Things Well, a podcast that will share insight from the country’s best managed companies.
Podcast will launch in January 2025
Each year, the Drucker Institute releases an annual ranking of the United States’ best managed companies. The most recent list, featured in The Wall Street Journal, highlights how the listed firms empower employers to solve problems from the bottom up. Employee development, a concept that includes fostering educational pathways that help workers refine existing, and learn new, capabilities is a key factor the institute examined.
The list provides a roadmap for companies of all sizes that want to be dynamic leaders in their industries and adopt skills-based hiring and talent development practices.
The groundbreaking podcast series, which will launch in January 2025 and run through September, will begin by featuring six standout companies from the 2025 Drucker Institute list and will highlight how they are applying Peter Drucker’s principles to usher in the future of work. It also will introduce innovative training and education providers that are working alongside employers to help them overcome technical and cultural barriers to the adoption of skills-based practices. These conversations will provide actionable insights for business leaders embracing a culture of employee engagement and development.
While early episodes are already in development, company leaders and talent solutions providers can reach out to Michael Kelly at Claremont Graduate University by contacting him at michael.kelly@cgu.edu to pitch ideas for episodes.
Highlighting the mutual benefit of good management
The podcast also will explore how both companies and their employees benefit from skills-based hiring and talent development practices.
The list of best managed companies proves this mutual benefit exists. The companies at the top of this year’s list of 250 Best-Managed Companies are among the most profitable in the world. For example, Apple, which nabbed the number one spot on the Drucker Institute’s list, continues to find ways to beat Wall Street earnings expectations.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told The Wall Street Journal one reason Apple has been successful is that CEO Tim Cook has created a culture of employee empowerment. “He got these folks to work together collaboratively. Employees feel really engaged. They feel really valued,” Sonnenfeld said.
The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University was established in 1999 to collect and preserve Drucker’s work and make it available to scholars, students, and business leaders. Learn more about the organization at this link. Read more here about how CKF empowers workers through lifelong learning and skills-based hiring and talent practices.