Product Description

The book about not just business but the meaning of life ... a guide for being the best at what you do and doing it with a sense of purpose that connects with something larger than yourself ...

For many people, The Salvation Army is most visible between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's when its officers, soldiers and volunteers, in the ubiquitous Kettle Campaign, make music and collect money for good works. Few realize, however, that the Army is much, much more than this one effort and is in fact a powerhouse of an organization. None other than Peter Drucker called it "the most effective organization in the U.S." Not the most effective nonprofit, but "the most effective organization." Quite a compliment from the world's most preeminent management thinker, especially when you consider that he is comparing The Salvation Army to world-class corporations like General Electric, IBM and Johnson &Johnson.

Now, Robert Watson, the Army's recently retired national commander, is ready to share the Army's secrets about organization, strategy, and acting with a sense of mission. With its 9,500 centers of operation, $2 billion in annual revenues, and 32 million clients served in every zip code in America, The Salvation Army is the model for doing business with a purpose. As Peter Drucker says, "no one even comes close to it with respect to clarity of mission, ability to innovate, measurable results, dedication and putting money to maximum use":
* Clarity of mission: What you can learn from the Army's laser-like focus of evaluating everything it does in terms of its mission of preaching the gospel and meeting human needs without discrimination.
* Ability to innovate: How The Salvation Army's investment in people gets incredible returns and why it as much venture capitalist as charity.
* Measurable results: Learn The Army's unique ways of setting, monitoring and celebrating the achievement of measurable goals so you, too, can say, "look, we promised we would do this and we delivered."
* Dedication: How the Army accomplishes so much with such a small cadre of officers.
* Putting Money to Maximum Use: What you can learn from The Army's bare skeleton of a national organization in terms of making the most of your resources and making all of your operations self-sufficient.

By demonstrating the power of a sense of purpose combined with organizational effectiveness, this remarkable book has something essential to say to all executives, entrepreneurs, managers, and anyone with the ambition to bring people together to reach a goal.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #379423 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-06
• Released on: 2001-11-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Amazon.com
Most of us know the Salvation Army from its fundraising efforts and philanthropic programs, but the $2 billion-a-year transcontinental institution, now serving more than 30 million people with a vastly underpaid and overworked staff, is also a model business structure. Under a title taken from the description applied to it by management guru Peter Drucker, The Most Effective Organization in the U.S. outlines the fundamental tenets that the group has prospered under since its founding in the mid- to late 1800s. Written by former National Commander Robert A. Watson and freelancer Ben Brown, the book details eight principles that allow the Army to do so much with so little: focus on "a purpose that transcends quarterly earnings"; make "what you do serve human needs"; stay publicly accountable to visible standards; encourage feedback and act upon it; "invest real power and real responsibility" in top personnel; "accept the inevitability of change"; take calculated risks; and motivate employees by ensuring their jobs are both valuable and enjoyable. Some readers may not be comfortable with the organization's overt ties to Christian teachings, but few can argue with the success it consistently enjoys. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
A clear mission, innovative techniques, commitment, efficiency and visible outcomes are the name of the business game, and also happen to be exemplified by the Salvation Army. In "The Most Effective Organization in the U.S.": Leadership Secrets of the Salvation Army, Robert A. Watson, an officer in the Salvation Army for 44 years, and freelance writer Ben Brown mine the organizational riches of this familiar group and present them as a model for others in the nonprofit and for-profit worlds. Watson, who as a child was clothed, fed and kept busy by the Salvation Army, reveals the skills and principles he learned as an officer of a company that completes projects from top to bottom from conceiving an idea and building a site to designing the financial plan and hiring, training and inspiring employees. The organization famous for its big heart also has plenty of sense. Proceeds go to the Salvation Army.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Noted management expert Peter F. Drucker has called the Salvation Army "the most effective organization in the U.S." With 9,500 centers, $2 billion in annual revenue, 32 million clients served, and a skeleton paid staff of around 5,000 persons, the Salvation Army is doing something right. In this book, Watson, the army's recently retired national leader, shares (with the coauthor Brown) the organization's secrets for success. First and foremost, most employees and volunteers affiliated with the Salvation Army are not in it for the paycheck; they have a higher purpose: serving God and humanity. Because of this common goal, the army has the ability to keep employees and volunteers passionately focused on the tasks at hand, which accounts for their big results. Watson shows managers and executives how they can introduce a common sense of purpose to their employees while also emphasizing precise organizational management. Many CEOs will never have considered some of these ideas, but at its most basic this book provides helpful information and innovative tips for leaders of all types of organizations. Kathleen Hughes
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