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Six Greatest Management Thinkers

Introduction

Business spends a great deal of money every year on books, seminars and other ways
of considering the views of the latest management thinkers. These people, particu-
larly if they have an individualistic speaking style, become famous and sometimes
very, very rich. But what of their impact on the actual running of the companies to
whom they have sold their services?

Few of them have produced theories that have stood the test of time, even
though their individual impact on managers who listen and adapt the way they do
things is probably immense. I have chosen those whom I feel have changed how
managers operate without necessarily being able to ascribe the thinking behind their
actions to any particular guru. Such people can be said to have changed the environ-
ment in which people work.

Having made the selection we found an interesting common theme – it would
seem that all the greatest thinkers and writers of books recognise that it is through
people that things get done, and that their motivation and management is the cru-
cial key.

Idea 62 – Douglas McGregor, author of The Human Side
of Enterprise

It is often instructive when reading the annual report of companies to look at what
they have said about their employees and search for inconsistencies. ‘Our people are
our greatest asset’ is a good annual report cliché, often accompanied further into the