Book cover of The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

Book description

What makes an effective executive?

The measure of the executive, Peter F. Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Effective Executive as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This was perhaps the first bestselling business book and became a classic. Drucker coined many maxims, for example, saying that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will do. This is obvious, but how many flounder for lack of clear objectives?

Good, sound common sense is here that stands a new look in the present day, even if it comes from a time when legislation and political correctness made things more straightforward while leaving some current issues unaddressed.

This book is an OG classic that contains the seed thoughts for many of today's most popular books on management, leadership, and team building. I have often found it incredibly helpful to go back to the original source of today’s widely accepted truisms to gain both perspective and a better understanding of our modern-day leadership assumptions and paradigms. This book is a case in point.

If you love The Effective Executive...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like The Effective Executive?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Effective Executive.

Browse books like The Effective Executive

Book cover of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Book cover of Good to Great
Book cover of The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

164

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The Effective Executive, you might also like...

Book cover of The Delphi Agenda

The Delphi Agenda by Rob Swigart,

Papyrologist Lisa Emmer's world flips when the Sûreté detains her at her Metro station with news of the savage murder of the esteemed Paris historian Dr. Raimond Foix, her friend and mentor in the study of ancient documents.

Horrified, Lisa finds clues at the crime scene left behind for her…

Book cover of The Tao of Poison

The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook,

A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.

The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…

5 book lists we think you will like!