[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25982]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             PETER DRUCKER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the passing of an 
incredible individual. He was a teacher and a friend of mine, and he 
was known to the world as the father of modern management. I am 
referring, of course, to Professor Peter Drucker, who passed away last 
Friday at his home in Claremont at the age of 95. When I spoke to his 
wonderful wife, Doris, early Saturday morning, the first thing she 
said, of course, was that Peter led an incredibly full life, which we 
all know that he did.
  I was able to, as an undergraduate, because of this great structure 
at the Claremont colleges, that allows for cross registration among the 
six different colleges, to begin taking classes as an undergraduate 
with Professor Drucker. Then, of course, going on to the graduate 
university there, I did the same.
  His words and his wisdom have had a profound effect on my strong 
beliefs and personal responsibility, free markets, the power of 
entrepreneurship and, of course, the very healthy and important 
skepticism of the effectiveness of sprawling government bureaucracies. 
I remember having dinner with him just a few years ago, and he was 
talking about an Italian observer who said the greatest threat to the 
future of Italy is efficient government. He was a genius, he was a 
genius who generously shared his talents, his kindness and his time 
with so many of us.
  For a man of such unparalleled vision and capability, he had 
wonderfully disarming sense of humor and an amazing humility. He was a 
world-class thinker and a provocative, as we all know, prolific writer.
  When he was just 23 years of age, living in Germany, he wrote an 
essay that was both outlawed and burned by the Nazis. When he was 30 
years of age, his first book, The End of Economic Man, was made 
required reading for graduates of the British Officers' Candidate 
School by Winston Churchill. All told he wrote over 30 books that sold 
millions of copies around the globe and influenced business leaders, 
social pioneers and heads of state.
  The great thing was that while he had the ears of the world's top 
leaders in both business and government, he maintained his strong 
commitment to teaching. He put great emphasis on individuals, and their 
contributions to large organizations and society. He saw employees as a 
company's most valuable resource, and in working together toward a 
defined goal, its greatest source of progress and change.
  Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more. He also believed that the 
highest standards of ethics and morality were essential to both a 
successful enterprise and a vibrant society. Being a good corporate 
citizen was a duty on par and not at odds with maximizing profits.
  Later in his career, he devoted much of his time to studying 
community organizations, because, in his words, the 21st century will 
be the century of the social sector organization. The more economy, 
money and information become global, the more community will matter. He 
donated his expertise to a wide range of organizations, the American 
Red Cross, the American Heart Association. The results of his advice 
and leadership have played a role in responding most recently to 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. His groundbreaking work resulted in many 
accolades and many opportunities to share his thoughts.
  In 1987, Claremont named its graduate school of management in his 
honor. He was a regular economist for the Wall Street Journal for two 
decades, from 1975 to 1995. He was bestowed with 25 doctorates from 
universities in Europe and here in the United States.
  In 1990, he created the Peter Drucker Foundation to bring together 
business and social leaders. One of the great thrills for me was I was 
able to be with Professor Drucker and his wonderful and extraordinarily 
talented wife, Doris, in the East Room of the White House when 
President Bush in 2002 bestowed the Medal of Freedom, the highest 
civilian award in our country, on Professor Drucker.
  The Economist Magazine, one of my favorite publications, called him 
the greatest thinker management theory has ever produced. In his book, 
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Drucker described entrepreneurs as 
those who create something new, something different. They change or 
transmute values. By his own definition, it is clear that Dr. Drucker 
was an intellectual entrepreneur.
  I mentioned this dinner that I had with him just a few years ago. I 
had the thrill of spending 3 hours with him. We talked about the impact 
that he had on so many people. The Los Angeles Times recounted that 
great entrepreneur Jack Welch, who headed General Electric, as saying 
that the turning point in large part came for him when Professor 
Drucker asked him the question, if you were not doing exactly what you 
are doing today, would you begin doing it, which was a very, very 
important point in determining what the future of General Electric was 
going to be.
  I also remember our former colleague Amo Houghton often quoting Peter 
Drucker when he said every brilliant idea ultimately degenerates to 
hard work. He was an amazing individual. He was a man of great warmth 
and accomplishment, and I will miss him personally, and I know the 
world is better because of his life.
  My thoughts and prayers are with Doris and their wonderful children 
and grandchildren. I will simply say to Professor Drucker, thank you, 
thank you, thank you for everything that you have done to improve the 
quality of life for so many.

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