Management is about
human beings

Peter F. Drucker, The New Realities

Introduction to the Drucker Forum 2021

by Richard Straub & Julia Kirby

THE HUMAN IMPERATIVE

NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

As exponentially advancing digital technology transforms so much of work and the world, questions inevitably arise about the place of the human being. Some say human roles will be diminished; others insist that the growing possibilities of “data-driven” decisions and actions will call even more for people who can combine science with common sense. The past years’ experience of global pandemic has thrown such questions into high relief, whether in organizations choosing to invest more heavily in automation or among policymakers implored to simply “follow the science.”

We can expect economic, fiscal, cultural, and political crises to escalate in the wake of Covid, and the tension between the technocratic and the humanistic forces to reach a breaking point. The former see a time of upheaval as an opportune moment to force a large-scale “reset” to a system currently flawed in many ways. The latter reject revolutionary redesign as counter to human nature – which craves, as Peter Drucker put it, a balance between “change and continuity.” Which is the best way forward, and how can we ensure that it prevails?

Leading thinkers at our 2021 Forum will grapple with important questions including but not limited to the following:

Must there be a human imperative at the core of organizations? How would we define it? What threatens it most today? How could good management serve it better?
Forced to make decisions under highly dynamic conditions, should organizations rely more heavily on data and analytics? What are the risks of moving away from human judgment?
Do we need better ways of discovering truth and thinking through the complex issues of our time? What insights should we take from philosophy, psychology, and other realms to prepare our minds for the age of AI?
What should we hope for—and fear—in the aftermath of a year of remote working? Will less in-person contact become the norm? How might human beings as social animals and community builders respond?
What lessons can we take from the Covid-19 crisis about the clashing perspectives of scientific experts, policymakers, business leaders, and ordinary citizens and workers—and how they should be prioritized or integrated to best serve the needs of humanity?
As in every time of upheaval, some today say we should not let “a serious crisis go to waste.” But is seizing the chance to enact sweeping change a humane impulse? What can we learn from the history of sudden revolutions, whether political, cultural, or organizational?
Central to the human condition is the ability to learn from evidence and experience—both our own and others’. How is it, then, that human organizations prove so resistant to collective learning? How do we stop making the same mistakes?
What changes to management education would better equip managers with the knowledge and competences they need today? Are there useful models to be found in how other professions are mastered?
Peter Drucker insisted that to be a change leader, an organization must also “establish continuity internally and externally.” But that human-friendly balance he advised means nothing to a computer. Is it still valid as a principle for management?
So much of recent human achievement has resulted from growing capabilities in administration and leadership that the past hundred years have been called “the management century.” How can we extend that run and make even greater progress in the future?

Note to the reader: In case you would want to provide your input and comments to the abstract please visit our Blog pages where an extended version of the abstract is posted.

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<h4>VIRTUAL CONFERENCE</h4>
<h1><strong>NOV. 17-19, 2021</strong></h1>
<hr />
<h4>IN-PERSON</h4>
<h1><strong>NOV. 18-19, 2021</strong></h1>

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

NOV. 17-19, 2021

IN-PERSON

NOV. 18-19, 2021

SPEAKERS AND CHAIRS 2021 INCLUDE

Tal

Ben-Shahar

Lecturer Harvard University, Author and Co-founder The Happiness Studies Academy & Potentialife

Amy

Bernstein

Editor, Harvard Business Review & VP Harvard Business Publishing

Simone

Bhan Ahuja

Founder of Blood Orange (with focus on innovation and emerging markets), Columnist for HBR online and author

Mathis

Bitton

Student of philosophy and political theory, Yale University

Steve

Blank

Adjunct Professor at Stanford and Senior Fellow for Innovation at Columbia

Eduardo P.

Braun

Leadership expert, consultant and author

Marcus

Buckingham

Author and Business consultant Author of Love+Work: How to Find What you Love, Love What you Do, and Do it for the Rest of your Life (April 2021)

Bernard Charnwut

Chan

Non-official Member of Hong Kong's Executive Council, President of Asia Financials Holdings Ltd.

Tom

Davenport

Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management, Babson College; Senior Advisor to Deloitte U.S.

Emmanuelle

Duez

CEO, The Boson Project

Juan

Enríquez

Author, academic, life sciences venture capitalist; Research affiliate at MIT’s synthetic neurobiology lab; Co-Founder Excel Venture Management;

Gerd

Gigerenzer

Director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy, University of Potsdam

Alice

Guilhon

Dean, SKEMA Business School

Rita

Gunther McGrath

Professor, Columbia Business School

Valerie

Hackl

Managing Director of Austro Control GmbH, Vienna

John

Hagel III

Author; Faculty Member, Singularity University; Member Board of Trustees, Santa Fe Institute

Hermann

Hauser

Co-founder and Venture Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners

Xavier

Huillard

Chairman and CEO, Vinci SA

Herminia

Ibarra

Professor for Organizational Behaviour, London Business School

Adi

Ignatius

Editor-in-chief, Harvard Business Review Group

Elsbeth

Johnson

Senior Lecturer MIT's Sloan School of Management, Managing Director, SystemShift

Hubert

Joly

Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School

Luc

Julia

Chief Scientific Officer, Renault Group

David J.

Kappos

Partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

John

Kay

Economist; Editorial contributor to FT; former Chair at LSE, LBS and Oxford; Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to economics

Julia

Kirby

Senior Editor, Harvard University Press

Karim R.

Lakhani

Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Erik J.

Larson

Computer scientist and tech entrepreneur whose writings help to shape society’s discourse about artificial intelligence

Maurice

Lévy

Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Publicis Groupe

Mickael

Locoh

VP Southern Europe & Africa, Steelcase

James M.

Loree

CEO, Stanley, Black & Decker

Wolf

Lotter

Journalist and Essayist; Co-founder brand eins

Roger L.

Martin

Strategy advisor; former Dean, Martin Prosperity Institute

Ikujirō

Nonaka

Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University

Michael

Ong

Founder & Chairman Innovative Business Foundation Limited

Muriel

Pénicaud

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the OECD

Daniel H.

Pink

Author

Patricia

Pomies

Chief Delivery & People Officer, Globant

Stéphane

Richard

CEO & Chairman, Orange Group

Andreas

Rosenfelder

Head of feature section, Die Welt/Welt am Sonntag

SPEAKERS LIST

Don’t expect to get simple answers.
But expect to be inspired.

Richard Straub
Opening and Welcome at the 9th Global Peter Drucker Forum 2017