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Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children (平装)
by John Wood
| Category:
Soul-searching, Rat race, Adventure, Entrepreneurship |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Publishers Weekly, USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
Starred Review. It's a rare business book that not only provides savvy insights for better business practices but transcends the category altogether, to rank as an infectiously inspiring read. Wood takes the reader on an engaging journey from his life as a rather ordinary marketing director at Microsoft through the transformative decision to launch the nonprofit organization Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org), which has created more than 2,000 schools and libraries for children across Asia. From his first trip to Nepal, where he was struck by the country's 70% illiteracy rate, through his courageous decision to leave Microsoft, to the logistics of growing and expanding the Room to Read initiative, Wood endears himself to the reader with his introspection and honesty. Crediting his former employer with giving him the business skills and drive to aim high, he outlines the concrete steps he took to make his vision a reality. Marked by sincerity and savvy, this is the kind of book that business colleagues will discuss with their acquaintances, spouses and friends.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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School Library Journal, USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
Adult/High School - As much about business practices as about personal discovery, this book lives up to its name as it details how the author traded in the executive lifestyle to champion his own nonprofit organization, Room to Read. Wood describes his life at Microsoft as a marketing director for Australia and, later, China. Young business enthusiasts familiar with Steve Ballmer and Bill and Melinda Gates will be entertained by the glimpse into their respective management styles and by the author's efforts to pattern himself in their likeness. He also describes his lack of personal fulfillment and his eventual redirection, brought on by a visit to the mountains of Nepal. With vignettes from profitable fundraising activities for Room to Read, he documents how to successfully start up a nonprofit organization and how to sustain it. Originally named Books for Nepal, Wood's organization focused initially on providing books to the disadvantaged schools of Nepal, but eventually he expanded its scope (and renamed it) so as to include the building of schools, Tsunami relief, and educational programs for the children of Asia. Corporate-minded adolescents interested in giving back to society will enjoy this title and glean practical advice from it. - Brigeen Radoicich, Fresno County Office of Education, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Booklist (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
If work is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on Earth, then Wood's journey into the world of nonprofits is testimony to that old adage. His is a story told simply, with many touch points that will resonate with baby boomers. This corporate warrior (Microsoft marketing director, to be exact) experienced an epiphany during a 1998 Himalayan vacation, by way of a request from a Nepalese schoolteacher that "Perhaps, sir, you will some day come back with books." In less than a year, Wood quit his comfortable job and established Books for Nepal (eventually renamed Room to Read), which collected books for Asian children, then built schools and libraries. He documents the building of more than 210 schools and 2,500 school libraries and the donation of nearly 1.5 million books. Didactic at times, but always inspirational, this book is guaranteed to prompt many readers to open their hearts, if not their wallets. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Kathleen Steinley (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
This book frees us from the constraints that we perceive when we look at the endless work the world provides to the heart of anyone who values his fellow man. Instead of following the well-paved path that holds that personal satisfaction is attained through greater and greater accumulation of wealth and social stature, Mr. Wood forges his own path in the hopes of making a difference in the lives of children who for lack of basic educational opportunities suffer lives of illiteracy and limited options. He looks at the question to which we all answer that the problem is too big for me to help, and chooses to help anyway. The results are astonishing. Further, he shows how, without stepping off our path, we too can help. Empowering and uplifting. It made me happy every time I sat down to read. |
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Alexia (MSLquote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
John Wood proves that business and social change are not such strange bedfellows after all. Accessible and relevant to those working in education, the corporate sector, philanthropy, nonprofits, or social entrepreneurship, this book is a wake-up call to all of us to move from identifying systematic, global injustices to doing something about them. It's impossible not to give money to Room to Read after reading this book! |
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Balin (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
It is a rare find to have top-tier business skills, a fierce compassion for people and a successful track-record of reaching for the stars, and pulling them in; John Wood is such a find, and his book, "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World" gives us the opportunity to find it as well.
John's heroic odyssey is so captivating and honest, that it's enjoyment factor almost masks the plethora of lessons and insights coming through page after page. This is a must read for anyone wanting to up-the-ante on their own expectations for life, leadership or impact in the world.
Not only does John's story inspire the heart to aim higher, it pinpoints the rigor and awareness required to get there. It is impossible to read this book and see your own potential in the same way ever again. John Wood has us believe there's more - lots more - and he provides the hope, example and means, to pursue it! |
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Kristin Pace (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
WARNING: If you are not willing to be challenged or motivated to act, do not read John Wood's new book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.
In the late 1990's Microsoft Marketing Director John Wood took a three week vacation in order to go trekking in the Himalayas. At the time Wood had no idea that the 200 mile walk would be the beginning of a radical change, not only in his thinking but in his very way of life.
On his first day of trekking, Wood meets a middle-aged Nepali named Pasupathi, the man responsible for finding resources for 17 schools in the rural Lamjung Province. Invited to join him, Wood soon found himself greeting students in an overcrowded Nepali school. Not only were the students crammed on long benches, they lacked desks, an accurate world map, and most striking, a lack of books in their small library. Four hundred and fifty students were without something as simple and important as books. The headmaster of the school then issued to Wood a challenge that would forever change his life: "Perhaps, sir, you will someday come back with books."
On completion of the three week trek, Wood sent out a challenge to over 100 people asking them to help the children of Nepal by donating books. Expecting a couple hundred books to be donated, Wood was overwhelmed to find that over 3,000 books were donated as a result of this single mailing.
Back to work at Microsoft, Wood realized a lack of fulfillment in his work. Statistics of illiteracy haunted him. After a second trip to Nepal, Wood knew what he had to do and wondered if he would have the courage to do it. He planned and implemented a radical shift in his life: that of moving from being a well paid corporate executive to an unpaid CEO of a nonprofit company who set up libraries in developing countries.
As a result of John Wood's courageous decision, the nonprofit organization, Room To Read, has now established over 5,000 libraries, built more than 400 schools and has awarded long-term scholarships to over 3,000 girls enabling them to continue their education. Partnered with the local villages, Room to Read has by donations funded schools in libraries in Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka and India.
It is said that education is the key to escaping the cycle of poverty. The mission of Room to Read is to "provide under-privileged children with an opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education." This book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, encourages its readers to reflect on the impact education has made on their lives, dares them to imagine a life without books, and challenges them to make a difference in the life of a child. |
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Wendy (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
There are plenty of books about one individual's accomplishments in the march to change the world. This book is different because - along with his passion for education and libraries - John Wood brings a model for transforming that passion into sustainable organizations on the ground. If you are actively involved in a nonprofit organization, you will enjoy John's down to earth advice about focusing on results, fundraising, and having fun while you're doing the hard work. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
John Wood's fantastic story of personal transformation, drive and passion will compel you to action! I read this book almost non-stop, choking back tears of great joy for the tremendous work of charity he has embarked on through his enterprising non-profit, Room to Read. His writing is funny, transparent, enthralling and poignant. Leaving Microsoft will make you laugh and cry as John Wood describes his odyssey from a Microsoft Executive to helping children learn in Asia and soon-to-be beyond. The morale behind this incredible story of faith: Pursue your passion, ignore naysayers and skeptics, and believe that you can make a powerful difference in this colorful world. |
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Lynn (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-21 00:00>
I know many people who are passionate about a cause but lost when it comes to what to do next. Wood had the business background to take his passion and turn it into a well-oiled non-profit machine that does tremendous good while appearing to opperate without the ego and bureaucracy that keeps many NPs from accomplishing their altruistic goals.
Wood not only built on his initial idea, but inspires others to turn their passions into action in very practical terms.
I'm a life coach and work with many clients who want to create a more meaningful life through meaningful work. But they are stopped for many reasons, not the least of which is fear they won't be able to survive financially. Because Wood knew life at both ends of the financial spetrum, perhaps it was easier for him to realize how little he could live with. In any case, his book is an inspiration to anyone wanting to follow their dream. |
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1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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