"Unless they [executives] make conscious efforts to perceive the outside, the inside may blind them to the true reality."
Peter Drucker was talking about the myriad things that go on inside of an organization which can take the attention of executives away from how effective their company is in the outside market.
Does that mean that we don't keep up with the inner workings of our companies. No. But it does mean the proper measurement of success isn't what is happening within the company, but what is happening without toward those the business serves.
The reason this is so, is an executive may attempt to get things together within the company in what is perceived as a very important part of success. But if those inner workings aren't connected to the outer customer, they are overall meaningless.
There's only one reason a business organization should exist, and that's for a purpose outside of itself. That purpose is the customer we serve. Get away from that purpose and it won't matter what is happening inside.
So no matter what we are doing, it should always be done for the purpose of those outside the business.
The temptation to consider a business a success because of inner satisfaction, without regard for how it impacts the reason the business exists, may make you and your workers feel good, but it ultimately can be a hazy fog lingering over and hiding the realities of how a company is really doing, and how effective we are toward our customers.
There will always be 1,001 things to take care of within a company. We need to make sure it doesn't take away from our vision how effective we are outwardly.
Other Peter Drucker Resources:
The Man Who Invented Management
Beyond the Information Revolution
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