“It is the customer alone whose willingness to pay for a good or for a service that converts economic resources into wealth, things into goods….The customer is the foundation of a business and keeps it in existence.” | Peter Drucker

By the time of his death in 2005 at the age of 95, Peter Drucker had become one of the world’s most influential business management scholars, writers and consultants. He received awards from governments and corporations worldwide, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Such awards are presented to people who go against their era’s common wisdom. As a recent Forbes essay on The Origin Of ‘The World’s Dumbest Idea’ pointed out, Drucker challenged the popular notion that a company’s mission can be focused on building shareholder wealth. Creating and serving customers are the only reasons businesses exist and grow, Drucker taught.

During the decade following his death, and especially in the aftermath of the Great Recession and the explosion of the digital economy, Drucker’s insights on business have become even more influential. Having history prove one correct does that.

Drucker’s philosophy is behind the success and growth of countless companies ranging from shops on Main Street to giant companies like Whole Foods, Apple and Amazon: Serve the customer, he said, and the shareholder’s wealth will grow.

Serve your customer. That’s why your company exists.

VIA | Hammock Inc.