What would Peter Drucker do? Peter Drucker--arguably the most influential management thinker of the last century--was widely known for teaching that the best leaders ask the right questions. Following in his footsteps, two chief financial officers discuss how they apply Drucker's techniques to solving their current business issues.

• Author: Sweeney, Patrick
• Position: Professional Development

Peter Drucker, the management consultant and author widely credited with inventing the discipline of management, had an insatiable curiosity and an uncanny ability to ask questions that got to the heart of the matter. His messages focused on self-discovery, which he viewed as an introspective and creative journey required of every leader.

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As Drucker frequently noted in his books, articles and lectures, the best leaders ask the right questions. And the right questions don't change as often as the answers do. Leaders--from author Jim Collins to legendary General Electric Corp. chief executive Jack Welch--have each said that a day they spent with Drucker was the most memorable day they'd ever had.

Welch recalled Drucker questioning him: "If you weren't in this business today, would you invest the resources to enter it?" Delving into that with Drucker led Welch to issue his famous edict that each of GE's businesses had to be number one or number two in its market or the manager would have to sell it or close it.

Winston Churchill described Drucker as a guiding light who makes us think. When asked at the right time, a question as deceptively simple as, "Who is your customer?" can cause an executive to reevaluate his or her strategy.

Born at the beginning of the last century, Drucker trained as a journalist and received his doctorate in public and international law. From 1971 to his death in 2005, he was the Clarke Professor of Social Science and Management at Claremont Graduate University. In 1987, in his honor, the university's management school was named the "Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management" (later known as the "Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management"). He taught his last class at the school in 2002 at age 92.

Drucker became a highly sought-after consultant when his book Concept of the Corporation became an international best-seller. He subsequently authored 39 books.

Drucker emphasized two things: asking and listening. And his lessons and questions resonate still with corporate executives.

Michael McLamb, executive vice president and chief financial officer of boating and yachting retailer MarineMax Inc., in Clearwater, Fla., says that in his experience chief financial officers tend to lead by asking questions. He emphasizes, however, that while questioning is important, "You want to make sure your questions are asked in a way that is open, curious and provokes exploration and keeps the ideas flowing."

He says that...