How to Change the World by David Bornstein

This is a compelling book filled with the stories of individuals whose big ideas have impacted nations thanks to the boost of recognition and a financial award by the organization, Ashoka, which was founded by Bill Drayton. It is arranged in anecdotal stories that chronicle Drayton's search for true social entrepreneurs who were ready to take their ideas to scale. His paradigm confronts a disconnect between how business sees change as being driven by individuals and how social theorists tend to see change as being driven by ideas. Drayton says: "If ideas are to take root and spread, ... they need champions - obsessive people who have the skill, motivation, energy and bullheadedness to do whatever is necessary to move them forward: to persuade, inspire, seduce, cajole, enlighten, touch hearts, alleviate fears, shift perceptions, articulate meanings and artfully maneuver them through systems" (91). He goes on to describe four practices of innovative organizations and six qualities of successful social entrepreneurs. Innovative organizations listen, "pay attention to the exceptional", come up with realistic solutions that work with real people, display and value "empathy", "flexible thinking", and a "strong inner core". Successful social entrepreneurs are willing to "self-correct", "share credit", "break free of established structures", "cross disciplinary boundaries", work in "relative obscurity", and they are highly ethical individuals. Not only does this book show who and what is changing the world, it tells how they are doing it in a way that could become a blueprint for world changers to imitate.
Bornstein, David. How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. New York: Oxford Press. 2004