You’ve got to love this book by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff when the subtitle reads, “Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy.” This book was a quick read with a bunch of very practical ways that Abrashoff led his folks as an empowering servant leader.

I love the concept of servant leadership and look forward to learning anything I can from examples set by others. However, I do struggle with how one gives responsibility to his people. What do you do if they fail? How much responsibility should you give? Which decisions do I need to be involved with?

Some of these the author discusses. Some, he doesn’t really get into detail with. But, his general philosophy for managing a crew of 300 people is excellent. I suggest that anyone in leadership read this book. If I could implement half of the things that Abrashoff was doing (proper training, having fun, carefully breaking the rules, focusing on the main thing and being excellent at it, recognizing the people who really get it done, cut out the monotonous unneccessary tasks the people do, cross train, always be prepared for action, be firm in discipline, know everyone) then the strength of our team and the success of our company would flourish.

Abrashoff had a broad set of simple rules about when he should be brought into a decision. We took a stab and came up with these. In short, consult me if the decision has the potential to…

1. Change the benefits to, hire/fire, or endanger an employee;
2. Violate government regulations;
3. Waste the company’s money;
4. Embarrass us if it shows up on the front page of the AJC.

My key take-away on this book by Henry Cloud and John Sims Townsend is… in order for people to grow, we need to begin moving back to the way God perfectly created man’s first environment in the Garden of Eden. Namely, Adam and Eve had perfect and intimate relationship with God and perfect and intimate relationship with each other. In other words, we need to be right in our relationship with God and right in our relationship with others. If either of these is not in order, then our lives will be out of order as well.

The book is tough to get into but provides valuable insight when it is taken as a whole. I believe the authors wrote it primarily for Christian counselors and that made the lay person in me struggle through the first half of the book.

Cloud and Townsend suggest that counselors take a balanced approach in counseling and helping people grow out of their issues. In their experience, a miraculous one-time instant healing of someone with deep issues rarely happens. However, a self-empowered healing rarely happens either. God works over time to help people heal their issues. But, God works through the body of Christ (other people) to liberate us from what entangles us. We have to work at it ourselves in the context of community, but it is God’s power that will make our efforts successful.

In addition to counseling, the general principles are true for anyone wishing to grow in any area. I have found it critical to bounce ideas off, to be challenged by, to be held accountable by, and to to encouraged by others.