Management is a Liberal Art

by Kevin Smith
(Pennsylvania)

I believe it is of crucial importance...more now than ever. Peter Drucker claimed management is a liberal art, and I couldn't agree more.

This means that true management (even self management) draws from every aspect of life and education - art, history, literature, etc.

Every person that wishes to be a successful leader should consider following a passion outside of what they do on a professional basis.

This develops creativity and well rounded leaders. As far as achieving it, I would follow Jim Collin's, (author of Good to Great, whose alternate passion is rock climbing) advice:

Find something that...
1.) You are passionate about
2.) Seems genetically encoded in your DNA (you do it naturally very well)
3.) You can make a difference doing it

Kevin Smith
Strategic Planning & Organizational Development Consultant