The most influential management guru in the world is
Peter Drucker, according to the latest Thinkers 50 ranking of business
thinkers produced by Suntop Media and marking the publication of Movers
and Shakers (Bloomsbury, 2003). Fending off the seemingly unstoppable
ascent of Harvard’s competitiveness king Michael Porter, Drucker—now
in his nineties—retained the No. 1 slot he earned in 2001. (Editor’s
note: AMA presented its Leadership Visionary Award to Peter Drucker at
AMA’s Leadership Forum on “Meeting the Challenges of Leadership”
in November 2003.
Click here for details).
Over the last two years, visitors to the Thinkers 50
Website (www.thinkers50.com)
have answered the question, “Who is the most influential living
business thinker?” The Thinkers 50 team also e-mailed hundreds of
business people, consultants, academics and MBA students throughout the
world. After sifting through hundreds of votes, a list of contenders was
compiled. Those who scored poorly on a commercial news search for press
mentions during the last two years (in the English language) were crossed
off of the list.
The result was a short-list of 82 names which were then
ranked by an expert panel against ten criteria: originality of ideas,
practicality of ideas, presentation style, written communication, loyalty
of followers, business sense, international outlook, rigor of research,
impact of ideas and the elusive “guru factor.”
The real drama of the ranking was among the runners-up.
Michael Porter closed the gap, moving up from No. 3 to claim the No. 2
spot. Among other things, the greatest strategic mind of our times has
invested his brain power in improving the UK’s productivity. Despite
a strong media presence, the genteel voice of management, Charles Handy,
slipped from 2nd to 5th place. Tom Peters moved up from No. 5 to No.3.
The top gainers were Philip Kotler, Northwestern University’s
doyen of marketing, who moved up four places from 10th to 6th and Jim
Collins, the author of the best-selling Good to Great, who climbed
from 20th to 10th place.
The highest newcomer to the 2003 ranking was the emotional
intelligence champion Daniel Goleman, who made an impressive debut at
29th. Goleman was closely followed by a string of other new arrivals.
Naomi Klein, author of the best-selling No Logo, took 30th place.
Dilbert fans will be pleased to know that the strip’s creator
Scott Adams remains as influential as ever, coming in at 27th.
Des Dearlove of Suntop Media, summed up his organization’s
findings: “This year’s Thinkers 50 demonstrates how fickle
managers are. Fads, fashions and gurus appear to come and go with increasing
speed. The reason is simple: managers know that a great idea, a different
way of doing things, can provide a crucial competitive advantage in an
increasingly cut-throat world. In business, ideas matter more than ever.”
Founded by Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove in 1999,
Suntop Media (www.suntopmedia.com)
is a media training and consulting company. Its clients include the Chartered
Institute of Marketing, London Business School and PWC Consulting.
Contacts: Des Dearlove: des.dearlove@suntopmedia.com
Stuart Crainer: stuart.crainer@suntopmedia.com
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