Books
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How to Change the World by David Bornstein
About: Bornstein profiles several successful social entrepreneurs whose projects range from rural electrification in Brazil to child protection in India to assisting disabled people in Hungary. Most of the social entrepreneurs profiled have been rigorously screened and selected as Ashoka fellows. The stories in this book are inspiring and exceptional stories of human achievement.
The Fortune at the Bottom of Pyramid by C. K. Prahalad
About: Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense untapped buying power. They represent an enormous opportunity for companies who learn how to serve them. Prahalad offers a blueprint for driving the radical innovation you'll need to profit in emerging markets--and using those innovations to become more competitive everywhere. This new paperback edition includes eleven concise, fast-paced success stories from India, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela--ranging from salt to soap, banking to cellphones, healthcare to housing.
Made to Stick by Chip Heath
About: Made to Stick is a book that will transform the way you communicate ideas. It’s a fast-paced tour of idea success stories (and failures)—the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect; the elementary-school teacher’s simulation that actually prevented prejudice . Provocative, eye-opening, and funny, Made to Stick shows us the principles of successful ideas at work—and how we can apply these rules to making our own messages “stick.”
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
About: Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts.
Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
About: “This book describes how Yunus—in partnership with some of the world’s most visionary business leaders—has launched the world’s first purposely designed social businesses. From collaborating with Danone to produce affordable, nutritious yogurt for malnourished children in Bangladesh to building eyecare hospitals that will save thousands of poor people from blindness, Creating a World Without Poverty offers a glimpse of the amazing future Yunus forecasts for a planet transformed by thousands of social businesses. Yunus’ “Next Big Idea” offers a pioneering model nothing less than a new, more humane form of capitalism.”
Podcast
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PRI: Social Entrepreneurship
About: PRI's Social Entrepreneurship Podcast highlights social entrepreneurs featured in PRI's portfolio of programs. Social entrepreneurs are society's change agents and they seek creative, inventive, and sustainable approaches to seemingly intractable issues of our time, such as poverty, climate change, and global health. PRI's social entrepreneur coverage is supported by the Skoll Foundation.
Social Innovation Conversations
About: The Social Innovation Conversations are co-produced by the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or simply listen to each clip online. You can find audio lectures, speaker series, and conference recordings on several issues: environmental responsibility, philanthropy, responsible investing, and more. The Social Innovation Conversations is part of the Conversations Network, which is worth checking out; it is a global team of passionate audio/video producers and editors that contain podcasts on a multitude of issues.
