Download or read book Innovation and Scaling for Impact written by Christian Seelos and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-04 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Innovation and Scaling for Impact forces us to reassess how social sector organizations create value. Drawing on a decade of research, Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair transcend widely held misconceptions, getting to the core of what a sound impact strategy entails in the nonprofit world. They reveal an overlooked nexus between investments that might not pan out (innovation) and expansion based on existing strengths (scaling). In the process, it becomes clear that managing this tension is a difficult balancing act that fundamentally defines an organization and its impact. The authors examine innovation pathologies that can derail organizations by thwarting their efforts to juggle these imperatives. Then, through four rich case studies, they detail innovation archetypes that effectively sidestep these pathologies and blend innovation with scaling. Readers will come away with conceptual models to drive progress in the social sector and tools for defining the future of their organizations.
Download or read book Idea to Impact written by Igor Pistelak and published by . This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Idea to Impact is your ultimate guide to continuously changing and transforming your business and doing it well. It's a text book, reference guide and change manual in one. It will show you how to adjust your transformation DNA not only to survive but to succeed in the world of change.
Download or read book Scaling Global Change written by Erin Ganju and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grow your start-up into a global influence with real-world impact Scaling Global Change provides social entrepreneurs with the strong organizational foundation they need to change the world. Through the story of Room to Read, one of the fastest-growing nonprofits in the last 18 years, this book features clear, real-world lessons for growing a non-profit or social enterprise, with special insight into girls’ education and literacy programming in lower-income countries. By outlining theories of program, operational, and system-level change, the discussion delves into the meat of the entrepreneurial spirit and applies it directly to everyday strategic decisions. The book begins with an overview of essential communication, vision, and execution fundamentals, and then dives into a discussion of metrics, monitoring, planning, leadership, and more. Clear guidance on internal operations, fundraising, team building, management, and other central topics provides a roadmap for new and experienced leaders, while further exploration of influence, strategy, and government funding relates the wisdom of experience from the perspective of a successful organization. Cross the chasm from start-up to mature organization with worldwide impact Gain insight into the theoretical and practical underpinnings of nonprofit success Adopt new perspectives on effectiveness, excellence, and influence Translate ideas into action in a way that will change the world Social entrepreneurship has taken off more than ever, and the market is crowded with optimistic leaders wanting to change the world. How do you differentiate your organization from the pack? How can you stand out, stand up, and make a real impact? These lessons are gained through experience and building a strong organizational culture; Room to Read has treaded this path and found itself at the heights of success. With Scaling Global Change, you reap the benefit of experiential lessons while applying them to the success of your own organization. **All Royalties from the sale of Scaling Global Change will be donated directly to Room To Read**
Download or read book Human Frontiers written by Michael Bhaskar and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-08-02 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why has the flow of big, world-changing ideas slowed down? A provocative look at what happens next at the frontiers of human knowledge. The history of humanity is the history of big ideas that expand our frontiers—from the wheel to space flight, cave painting to the massively multiplayer game, monotheistic religion to quantum theory. And yet for the past few decades, apart from a rush of new gadgets and the explosion of digital technology, world-changing ideas have been harder to come by. Since the 1970s, big ideas have happened incrementally—recycled, focused in narrow bands of innovation. In this provocative book, Michael Bhaskar looks at why the flow of big, world-changing ideas has slowed, and what this means for the future. Bhaskar argues that the challenge at the frontiers of knowledge has arisen not because we are unimaginative and bad at realizing big ideas but because we have already pushed so far. If we compare the world of our great-great-great-grandparents to ours today, we can see how a series of transformative ideas revolutionized almost everything in just a century and a half. But recently, because of short-termism, risk aversion, and fractious decision making, we have built a cautious, unimaginative world. Bhaskar shows how we can start to expand the frontier again by thinking big—embarking on the next Universal Declaration of Human Rights or Apollo mission—and embracing change.
Download or read book The Voltage Effect written by John A. List and published by Currency. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A leading economist answers one of today’s trickiest questions: Why do some great ideas make it big while others fail to take off? “Brilliant, practical, and grounded in the very latest research, this is by far the best book I’ve ever read on the how and why of scaling.”—Angela Duckworth, CEO of Character Lab and New York Times bestselling author of Grit ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—Men’s Journal “Scale” has become a favored buzzword in the startup world. But scale isn't just about accumulating more users or capturing more market share. It's about whether an idea that takes hold in a small group can do the same in a much larger one—whether you’re growing a small business, rolling out a diversity and inclusion program, or delivering billions of doses of a vaccine. Translating an idea into widespread impact, says University of Chicago economist John A. List, depends on one thing only: whether it can achieve “high voltage”—the ability to be replicated at scale. In The Voltage Effect, List explains that scalable ideas share a common set of attributes, while any number of attributes can doom an unscalable idea. Drawing on his original research, as well as fascinating examples from the realms of business, policymaking, education, and public health, he identifies five measurable vital signs that a scalable idea must possess, and offers proven strategies for avoiding voltage drops and engineering voltage gains. You’ll learn: • How celebrity chef Jamie Oliver expanded his restaurant empire by focusing on scalable “ingredients” (until it collapsed because talent doesn’t scale) • Why the failure to detect false positives early on caused the Reagan-era drug-prevention program to backfire at scale • How governments could deliver more services to more citizens if they focused on the last dollar spent • How one education center leveraged positive spillovers to narrow the achievement gap across the entire community • Why the right set of incentives, applied at scale, can boost voter turnout, increase clean energy use, encourage patients to consistently take their prescribed medication, and more. By understanding the science of scaling, we can drive change in our schools, workplaces, communities, and society at large. Because a better world can only be built at scale.
Download or read book The Idea Factory written by Jon Gertner and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive history of America’s greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th century’s most influential technologies “Filled with colorful characters and inspiring lessons . . . The Idea Factory explores one of the most critical issues of our time: What causes innovation?” —Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review “Compelling . . . Gertner's book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a society should best invest its research resources.” —The Wall Street Journal From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it's hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn't been touched by Bell Labs. In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men-Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker-who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born.
Download or read book Innovating written by Luis Perez-Breva and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-08-28 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the MIT-developed, “doer’s approach” to innovation with this guide that reveals you don’t need an earth-shattering idea to create a standout product, service, or business—just a hunch that you can scale up to impact. Innovation is the subject of countless books and courses, but there’s very little out there about how you actually innovate. Innovation and entrepreneurship are not one and the same, although aspiring innovators often think of them that way. They are told to get an idea and a team and to build a show-and-tell for potential investors. In Innovating, Luis Perez-Breva describes another approach—a doer’s approach developed over a decade at MIT and internationally in workshops, classes, and companies. He shows that innovating doesn’t require an earth-shattering idea; all it takes is a hunch. Anyone can do it. By prototyping a problem and learning by being wrong, innovating can be scaled up to make an impact. As Perez-Breva demonstrates, “nothing is new” at the outset of what we only later celebrate as innovation. In Innovating, the process—illustrated by unique and dynamic artwork—is shown to be empirical, experimental, nonlinear, and incremental. You give your hunch the structure of a problem. Anything can be a part. Your innovating accrues other people’s knowledge and skills. Perez-Breva describes how to create a kit for innovating, and outlines questions that will help you think in new ways. Finally, he shows how to systematize what you’ve learned: to advocate, communicate, scale up, manage innovating continuously, and document—“you need a notebook to converse with yourself,” he advises. Everyone interested in innovating also needs to read this book.
Download or read book Proceedings written by American Concrete Institute and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Good Idea Now What written by Charles T. Lee and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-01-05 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proven pathways for taking ideas to implementation We all have ideas—things we want to do or create—but only some of us will do what it takes to see those ideas come to pass. In Good Idea. Now What? readers will discover some of the essential values and principles that guide successful idea-makers, including the leveraging of mixed environments for creativity, working through resistance and setbacks, developing a practical plan for implementation that works, navigating collaborative opportunities, and communicating your idea to make it truly remarkable. Whether you're just a creative type, or the leader of an organization, you must figure out a creative process and develop an infrastructure for implementing your ideas. Good Idea. Now What? offers systematic advice for moving your ideas to execution. It will show you: The fundamental elements of a good idea Tangible pathways to follow after initial inspiration The importance of branding and its impact on ideas Practical advice for developing a loyal tribe of supporters who will take your idea to a whole new level It's not enough to be inspired. Learn how to follow through on your ideas and discover how great an impact you can have!
Download or read book Impact Mapping written by Gojko Adzic and published by Provoking Thoughts. This book was released on 2012-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A practical guide to impact mapping, a simple yet incredibly effective method for collaborative strategic planning that helps organizations make an impact with software.
Download or read book The Impact Equation written by Chris Brogan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Anyone can write a blog post, but not everyone can get it liked thirty-five thousand times, and not everyone can get seventy-five thousand subscribers. But the reason we’ve done these things isn’t because we’re special. It’s because we tried and failed, the same way you learn to ride a bike. We tried again and again, and now we have an idea how to get from point A to point B faster because of it.” Three short years ago, when Chris Brogan and Julien Smith wrote their bestseller, Trust Agents, being interesting and human on the Web was enough to build a significant audience. But now, everybody has a platform. The problem is that most of them are just making noise. In The Impact Equation, Brogan and Smith show that to make people truly care about what you have to say, you need more than just a good idea, trust among your audience, or a certain number of followers. You need a potent mix of all of the above and more. Use the Impact Equation to figure out what you’re doing right and wrong. Apply it to a blog, a tweet, a video, or a mainstream-media advertising campaign. Use it to explain why a feature in a national newspaper that reaches millions might have less impact than a blog post that reaches a thousand passionate subscribers. Consider the phenomenally successful British singer Adele. For most musicians, onstage banter basically consists of yelling “Hello, Cleveland!” But Adele connects with her audience, pausing between songs to discuss a falling-out with her friends, or the drama of a break up. Each of these moments comes off as if she were talking directly with you, and you can easily relate. Adele has Impact. As the traditional channels for marketing, selling, and influencing disappear and more people interact mainly online, the very nature of attention is changing. The Impact Equation will give you the tools and metrics that guarantee your message will be heard.
Download or read book Proceedings of the Annual Convention American Concrete Institute written by American Concrete Institute and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Beyond Happiness written by Jenn Lim and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The co-founder and CEO of Delivering Happiness updates the Delivering Happiness model for our new abnormal, showing organizations of every kind how to cultivate a culture that can adapt to change, be highly profitable, and support all its people...starting with yourself. *WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER* *Named a Top Business Book of 2021 by Forbes* Jenn Lim has dedicated her career to helping organizations from name-brand industry leaders to innovative governments build workplace cultures that benefit both their employees and their bottom line, with less employee turnover, greater engagement, and higher profits. Her culture consultancy, Delivering Happiness, demonstrates the profound impact happiness can have on businesses' ability to thrive in our ever-changing times. In this book, she clearly and concretely shows the way the model works in a hyper-connected fast-paced world, beginning with each individual defining their sense of values and purpose (the ME), and rippling through the organization ecosystem (the WE and the COMMUNITY) in waves of impact. Drawing on a deep understanding of the science of happiness, Jenn shows how bringing your whole self to work allows you to do your best work every day -- no matter what role you play at your company or what crisis might come at you next. She explains how true happiness comes from living your true purpose, and offers case studies to show how companies can help individuals align their purpose with the company mission. This innovation in organizational design and company culture is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s the future of work, and it’s here now. In this life-changing guide, you'll be empowered to find greater purpose in your own life and career, and to spread that power to others in your business and beyond.
Download or read book The Idea Shapers written by Brandy Agerbeck and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long to feel less overwhelmed? Wish for clarity in your decision making? Looking for lucidity in your thinking? Seeking confidence in your communication? The simple solution is at your fingertips. Paper and pen. In this guide, Brandy Agerbeck reveals drawing as your best thinking tool, making visual thinking attainable and enjoyable through a set of twenty-four Idea Shapers. Each concept combines fine art and facilitation to turn abstract ideas into concrete drawing that help you do great things.
Download or read book HBR s 10 Must Reads on Nonprofits and the Social Sectors featuring What Business Can Learn from Nonprofits by Peter F Drucker written by Harvard Business Review and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nonprofits and the social sectors are taking on an increasing share of the world's most vital work. Make sure your organization is ready for the challenge. If you read nothing else on nonprofits and the social sectors, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you align your organization's mission and strategy, deliver immediate impact, and create lasting change. This book will inspire you to: Choose the right problem to solve Understand when the best practices of for-profits don't apply Assemble an engaged and goal-driven board of directors Make the most of for-profit initiatives and corporate partnerships Drive demand, scale up, and be ready to change course Learn from the success stories of the world's most respected nonprofit leaders This collection of articles includes "Lofty Missions, Down-to-Earth Plans," by V. Kasturi Rangan; "What Business Can Learn from Nonprofits," by Peter F. Drucker; "Life's Work: An Interview with Desmond Tutu"; "Are You Solving the Right Problem?" by Dwayne Spradlin; "Life's Work: An Interview with George Mitchell"; "Enterprising Nonprofits," by J. Gregory Dees; "Life's Work: An Interview with Wynton Marsalis"; "State Street's CEO on Creating Employment for At-Risk Youths," by Joseph Hooley; "Life's Work: An Interview with Salman Khan"; "Do Better at Doing Good," by V. Kasturi Rangan, Sohel Karim, and Sheryl K. Sandberg; "AEI's President on Measuring the Impact of Ideas," by Arthur C. Brooks; "Life's Work: An Interview with Michelle Bachelet"; "The New Work of the Nonprofit Board," by Barbara E. Taylor, Richard P. Chait, and Thomas P. Holland; "Life's Work: An Interview with Bill T. Jones"; "Reaching the World's Poorest Consumers," by Muhammad Yunus, Frederic Dalsace, David Menasce, and Benedicte Faivre-Tavignot; "Life's Work: An Interview with Muhammad Yunus"; and "Audacious Philanthropy: Lessons from 15 World-Changing Initiatives," by Susan Wolf Ditkoff and Abe Grindle.
Download or read book A Certain Idea of Europe written by Craig Parsons and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The quasi-federal European Union stands out as the major exception in the thinly institutionalized world of international politics. Something has led Europeans—and only Europeans—beyond the nation-state to a fundamentally new political architecture. Craig Parsons argues in A Certain Idea of Europe that this "something" was a particular set of ideas generated in Western Europe after the Second World War. In Parsons's view, today's European Union reflects the ideological (and perhaps visionary) project of an elite minority. His book traces the progressive victory of this project in France, where the battle over European institutions erupted most divisively. Drawing on archival research and extensive interviews with French policymakers, the author carefully traces a fifty-year conflict between radically different European plans. Only through aggressive leadership did the advocates of a supranational "community" Europe succeed at building the EU and binding their opponents within it. Parsons puts the causal impact of ideas, and their binding effects through institutions, at the center of his book. In so doing he presents a strong logic of "social construction"—a sharp departure from other accounts of EU history that downplay the role of ideas and ideology.
