See: Community Building Reading List
Notes about How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein (via Google Bard):
Sure. David Bornstein’s book, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, is a collection of profiles of social entrepreneurs from around the world. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who use business-like approaches to solve social problems. Bornstein argues that social entrepreneurs are essential to solving the world’s most pressing problems, and he provides a roadmap for others who want to follow in their footsteps.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part, “The New Social Entrepreneurs,” introduces the concept of social entrepreneurship and profiles several early social entrepreneurs, including Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka. The second part, “The Tools of Social Entrepreneurship,” explores the different strategies and tactics that social entrepreneurs use to achieve their goals. The third part, “The Future of Social Entrepreneurship,” looks at the challenges and opportunities facing social entrepreneurs in the 21st century.
How to Change the World is an inspiring and thought-provoking book that provides a much-needed glimpse into the world of social entrepreneurship. Bornstein’s profiles of social entrepreneurs are both inspiring and informative, and his analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing social entrepreneurship is insightful. The book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in making a difference in the world.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the book:
- Social entrepreneurs are essential to solving the world’s most pressing problems.
- Social entrepreneurs use business-like approaches to solve social problems.
- There are many different ways to be a social entrepreneur.
- Social entrepreneurship is a growing field with a bright future.
If you are interested in making a difference in the world, I encourage you to read How to Change the World. It is a book that will inspire you to take action and make a difference.
[Author’s Note: The above text was AI-generated and may not be accurate. The overarching intent behind this blog post is to provide a starting point for discussions among aspiring community builders. Just as startup founders can benefit from startup oriented content (such as those provided by accelerators and incubators), community builders can benefit from community building oriented content. If you are an aspiring community builder, please contribute to the discussion by commenting on this post]
Comments
One response to “How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein”
David Bornstein focuses on a specific kind of leadership which is more relevant to community building than it is to company building. He describes these people as social entrepreneurs.
Throughout the book, Bornstein takes several examples of people who started causes and worked on them quietly for long periods of time not to make a profit, but simply to have an effect on the world. Here are some examples:
– JB Schramm – Founder of Grove Impact that helped thousands of low-income students enter college in the USA
– Veronica Khosa – set up the Tateni Home Care Services to provide counseling and support services, and home-based care to HIV/Aids patients
– James Grant – led efforts to improve child immunization rates
– Bill Drayton – founder of the Ashoka foundation, which supports other social entrepreneurs
Some quotes from the book:
“When we use our intelligence and knowledge to serve people, humanity has hope. We are the hope, we are the future.”
“When we began, people told us that it wasn’t possible to create such an inclusive feeling,” Sadowski explained. “Then they said it’s possible on a limited basis. Now they say it’s completely possible. But there is nothing mysterious about it. The worst criminal doesn’t believe things can be this way only because he has never come across these kinds of relationships. But we can take on beautiful and fantastic things as easily as we can take on stupid things”
“…making the groups work was a time-consuming process, but not a mysterious one. Trust had to develop”
The book also lays down four useful guidelines for communities:
– Institutionalise listening: make sure that the voices of your community members are being heard
– Pay attention to the exceptional: most progress is made by paying attention to the unexpected successes and surprising information
– Be realistic about human behaviour and design solutions for real problems
– Focus on the human qualities: Pay close attention when recruiting, hiring and managing staff
Apart from this the book also provides examples of how community builders should encourage affinity and sacrifice. For instance, Jeroo Billimoria the founder of Childline, a community whose members were various organisations committed to helping under-privileged children and prevent them from being exploited, decided that any corporation that wanted to affiliate themselves with Childline would have to commit to long-term support and business advisory and not limit themselves to writing checks.
The book describes social entrepreneurs as having a number of traits that are a balance of motivated, practical, innovative and above all else, persistent.
Finally, the book also notes that not everyone should be a social entrepreneur. Nonetheless, it is a good read for anyone who decides that they want to be one.