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Title: How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein ISBN: 0-19-513805-8 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A welcome explanation of revolutionary ideas
Comment: David Bornstein's new book How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas offers a superb introduction to the burgeoning field of social entrepreneurship, which has gained prominence in the past two decades but is still awkwardly explained. Rather than group radically different projects under the umbrella term "social entrepreneurship," Bornstein goes to the root and describes what makes a social entrepreneur. While well-known figures such as Florence Nightingale and Unicef head James P. Grant are described, most of the individuals profiled in the book are active, independent entrepreneurs found through the network resources of Bill Drayton's organization Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. Ashoka has broke new ground as a venture capital firm for social betterment, investing in carefully selected individuals and projects that promise long-term, sustainable returns - that is, positive social change - and more than any other organization promoting the ideas of social entrepreneurship around the globe.
It is telling that, on the surface, the entrepreneurs described have little in common. Vera Cordeiro, for example, grew up comfortably in the pampered upper strata of Brazilian society, while AIDS worker Veronica Khosa was orphaned at an early age in an impoverished village in South Africa. Fábio Rosa is a born tinkerer and engineer who built dams and irrigation systems in his backyard as a child, while Erzébet Szekeres was a mid-level tradesswoman who never considered the changing Hungary's treatment of the disabled until the birth of her disabled son. The variety of conditions and approaches Bornstein describes may appear bewildering at first, but in fact this breadth is perhaps most effectively drives the book's point home: Bornstein highlights the lateral thinking and tenacity of the entrepreneurs, who recognized and devoted themselves to solving problems others did not even acknowledge. Most of the entrepreneurs arrived at their methodologies through trial and error, never realizing at the time that others were engaged in analogous work in vastly disparate fields.
Many entrepreneurs conceive of projects in modular or franchise terms, eschewing top-down fixes by fiat. Creating a hotline and crisis center for street children in India and promoting rural electricity and irrigation in Brazil have little in common, but both Jeroo Billimoria and Fábio Rosa saw that sustainable, long-term solutions would have to incorporate local interests and involvement. In this way projects can maintain core principles while adapting to local circumstances and needs, and entrepreneurs who struggle for years with a particular local problem hammer out a replicable and portable model that spreads quickly. The results surprise Bornstein himself on occasion:
"When I read about [Tomasz] Sadowski's work, my first thought was that Ashoka had made a mistake. If ever there was an idea that was destined to remain local, this was it. How many stable, self-managed, partially self-supporting homes made up of former prison inmates, alcoholics, and homeless people can you have?
"The answer, as of early 2003, was twenty and counting."
Bornstein's writing is brisk and energetic, using a wry wit to strike a fine balance between the gravity of the work and the infectious energy of the entrepreneurs. This style of writing befits the entrepreneurs themselves, who do not dress up their language in niceties when bluntness is more effective. The reader is struck with both admiration and amusement, for example, reading how Indian disability activist Javed Abidi took advantage of physicist Stephen Hawking's visit to India to excoriate the government's reluctance to promote widespread disability access.
"I would be absolutely grateful to Dr. Hawking," Abidi told reporters, "if he would want to go to different parts of Delhi, like Janpath, Connaught Place, the public loo, and to any of the government offices or shopping centers and hotels and embarrass the authorities."
In this way the book avoids the pitfalls of excess piety and preachiness and instead reads like a collection of exciting and incredible life stories. Bornstein wisely lets the entrepreneurs' works and words speak for themselves whenever possible, and thus the book feels genuinely moving and inspirational rather than overwrought.
I would recommend this book to anyone involved in policy-making or curious about the global potential of individual action. The ideas discussed in the book appear to be gaining momentum on a global scale, not merely that social entrepreneurship is an idea whose time has come, but because selfless and driven social entrepreneurs are bringing the idea to our time.
Rating: 5
Summary: Inspirational and Practical
Comment: Having been most inspired by his remarkable study of the Grameen Bank (The Price of a Dream) and his articles for Ashoka at Changemakers.net, I was delighted to a new Bornstein tome. And, in fact, this surpasses all my expectations. What a phenomenal tour of some of the most remarkable changemakers who, quite independently from one another, are creating a quiet revolution in how we think about creating a new world that is based not on top-down solutions but on local initiative. This is much more than a compendium of fascinating stories, however; Mr. Bornstein provides a very profound study of just what we can all do to become participants in this adventure of social entrepreneurship. Bravo, Mr. Bornstein!
Rating: 5
Summary: AN EXCITING NEW CAREER OPTION
Comment: This inspirational book should be in the hands of every career development person in every high school, college, and university. If I had known in my twenties or thirties (quite a while ago) that the field of "social entrepreneur" existed, it would have influenced my career path. Bornstein gives full credit to Bill Drayton's pioneering work with Ashoka in identifying the skill and character set necessary to succeed as a social entrepreneur and then finding and supporting these people in numerous countries around the globe. Readers can begin to assess, perhaps with feedback from friends and colleagues who know them well, whether or not they have what it takes to make it as a social entrereneur. By publicizing this field, which up until now has largely been flying under the radar of media attention, Bornstein has provided a significant public service. As more people learn about this new profession, more people with the skill and character set will get into it. As a result, more social problems in more countries will be addressed in ways that work and that can be replicated regionally and nationally. Just as social entrpreneurialism is a powerful leverage point for positive social change, I predict this book will be a leverage point for the development of social entrepeneur as a new career option. IF, and this is an important "if", it gets into the right hands, namely, people who influence career choices. After reading this book, if you agree, you can amplify the public service by recommending it to any career development professionals you know. Some future social entrepeneurs and the future beneficiaries of their work will thank you.
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Title: Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs by J. Gregory Dees, Jed Emerson, Peter Economy ISBN: 0471397350 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 29 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs: Enhancing the Performance of Your Enterprising Nonprofit by J. Gregory Dees, Jed Emerson, Peter Economy ISBN: 0471150681 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 15 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank by David Bornstein ISBN: 0226066444 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus ISBN: 1586481983 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Social Entrepreneurship : The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development by Peter C. Brinckerhoff ISBN: 0471362824 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 31 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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