In 2000, Fred Andrews wrote in The New York Times of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management—now The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute: “With little money, the Institute is a pool of management wisdom for all who choose to dip their cup.” Today, we celebrate the Institute's 25th anniversary. Our work has not deviated far from our work in 1990, or 2000: we continue to publish the most contemporary writing on leadership and management; we provide relevant leadership resources, advice and inspiration; we introduce cross-sector partnerships that provide opportunities for learning and growth; and we support student-leaders and professionals around the globe.
I'm encouraged by the “Bright Future” message of leaders across the sectors who are using The Five Questions—who are reaching into their organization and out to their customers and community, reaffirming their values, and reexamining their mission.
Since we first published The Five Questions, I've met many “fellow travelers”—working professionals, high-level executives, cadets, faculty, students—who tell us that the inspiration and leadership resources we offer, rooted in the leadership work of Peter F. Drucker, has allowed them to embody more fully our To Serve Is To Live leadership philosophy, as well as share our mission-focused, values-based leadership model with others in their wider community. These leaders have realized that simple questions are sometimes the hardest to answer. Peter Drucker's questions are profound, and answering them requires us to make stark and honest self-assessments.
If Peter were with you and your organization today, we believe he would ask the same five questions he developed when our journey of self-assessment began with him:1
Complex and compelling—these questions are essential and relevant. They can be applied to any organization today. This book is designed for organizational, strategic self-assessment, not for program assessment or for an individual performance review. It starts with the fundamental question, “What is our mission?” It addresses the question of the organization's reason for being—its purpose—not the how. The mission inspires; it is what you want your organization to be remembered for. The questions then guide you through the process of assessing how well you are doing, ending with a measurable, results-focused strategic plan to further the mission and to achieve the organization's goals, guided by the vision.
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. Some organizations of the past rested on good deeds alone. Organizations of the future are relevant and sustainable with measurable results.
This self-assessment model is flexible and adaptable. Walk this tool into any boardroom or CEO's office. Use it in any sector—public, private, or social. It does not matter whether the organization is a Fortune 500 multinational or a small entrepreneurial start-up, a large national government agency or one that serves your local town or regional heartland, or a billion-dollar nonprofit foundation or a $100,000 homeless shelter. What matters is commitment to the mission, commitment to the customer, commitment to the future, and commitment to innovation. Self-discovery is an introspective and courageous journey that gives organizations and leaders the energy and courage to grow.
In this enhanced edition of the indispensable tool, we have considered the context of our times, the advent of the B Corporation, which allows organizations to account for the commitments they are making to their customers, their employees, the environment, and the community at large, the impact we are seeing from the Millennial generation—a generation for whom To Serve Is To Live is not a foreign language. We have convened emerging and experienced leaders of the future who offer us new insight to these powerful five questions.
We are deeply grateful for the generous gift of our respected and admired contributors:
Their thoughtful perspectives will inspire you, and we know you will be as appreciative of their generous gifts of wisdom, experience, and intellectual energy as we are. The original The Five Most Important Questions emerged from the wisdom of Drucker. We once again share Drucker's wisdom, this time enriched with the thoughts of new great leaders. We are deeply grateful to you, our readers and supporters, fellow travelers on the journey to organizational self-discovery.
Frances Hesselbein
Founding President, President and CEO
Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute
New York City