The Most Effective Organization in the U.S.: Leadership Secrets of the Salvation Army (Hardcover)

Reading this book is a deeply moving spiritual experience. " . . . [T]he real secret of our success is getting them [those the Salvation Army serves] to accept responsibility for integrating their hearts, their minds, their souls with transcendent purpose."

In grading this book, I was most heavily influenced by how much it added to my knowledge of the Salvation Army (clearly a five star operation) as an organization, and its key leadership and management principles. Like most people, I mainly know about the Salvation Army through tiny glimpses of its work as seen in good neighborhoods (while most of the work takes place in more challenging environments) . . . rather than as a case history in organizational effectiveness. Now, as a result of reading this book, I can see the whole a little and see it as being much more than the sum of the pieces.

Compared to the potential to tell the Salvation Army's story, however, you may find that this book could be improved upon. I certainly did. The examples from businesses, sports, and music as well as the many references to famous management books usually just stole space, in my judgment, from telling more about the Salvation Army. A more useful counterpoint in the book would have been to explain how for-profit organizations fare in performing many of the same tasks that the Salvation Army does.

I'm also not sure that the book totally captured the full lesson of the power of the Salvation Army's mission: Potential and actual volunteers and donors, those who need the Salvation Army's services, the families of those who need the Salvation Army's services, and the communities in which the Salvation Army operates (regardless of religious faith and personal beliefs) find the Salvation Army's purposes of principles to be inspiring and worthy of both active and moral support. In this dimension, the closest I can think of another organization for its mission's powerful appeal is Habitat for Humanity.

As a student of leadership and management, I came away totally awed by thinking about how you provide services over 30 million people with around 5500 executives and managers (about a third of whom are "retired") in so many different, difficult activities: alcohol and drug rehabilitation; rehabilitating prisoners; helping homeless people get back to normal living; community recreation; disaster relief; rebuilding communities after disasters; and providing for the poor. The Salvation Army takes justifiable interest in measuring how effectively it performs these tasks compared to other organizations. The comparisons are usually very favorable. To put this in perspective, did you know that the Salvation Army had its first portable canteen on the scene within 20 minutes after the Oklahoma City bombing? Within minutes, three canteens were there.

Then, I was totally flattened to realize that those who run all of these activities must raise the funds for them locally. Beyond a little start-up money (which must be repaid), each effort must be financially self-sustaining. So when a need arises, the leaders must be serving the need and raising the money at the same time. Somehow, it all comes together.

Commissioner (retired U.S. national commander) Robert Watson describes these successes to the way the Salvation Army's mission engages the spirit of people. "We must always be mission driven." "If a proposal doesn't advance our twofold mission, we're not interested in it."

The mission is:

"The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church."

"Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God."

"Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination."

This mission is based on the injunction to teach in Matthew 28:19 and to serve in Matthew 25:40. These are two inseparable obligations. Yet the book is full of examples of those who are not observers of the Christian religion who support the work of the Salvation Army.

In pursuing the mission, the Salvation Army looks for holistic solutions. As William Booth, the Salvation Army's founder, said, "Take the slums out of people." For homeless people, this may mean providing them a place to sleep, helping them overcome any drinking or drug problems, making clean clothes available, helping them polish up skills to apply for jobs, assist with learning to read better, and rekindling the spirit of wanting to take charge of their lives again. At the same time, their spiritual needs and self-worth need to be nurtured just as much.

The holistic solutions carry over to building its staff. Many are sons and daughters of staff members or families that received aid in the past, as was true of Commissioner Watson. Both the wife and husband share a job. They both wear the uniform, and follow the rules. Assignments are made in ways to be best for the family and the Salvation Army. The children are often enrolled in the same youth programs that serve the poor in the same community.

"God, please make us worthy of such trust!"

My favorite quote from the book is that "you can be forgiven a great deal for honest mistakes committed in the act of trying to save the world."

Does your work reflect your spiritual values? If not, have you considered taking on volunteer work that would? Who knows where it could lead?

As the book's final point reminds us, be sure you are having "the fun of work."