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47 reviews for:
Leaving Microsoft To Change The World: An Entrepreneur's Quest To Educate The World's Children
John Wood
3.95 AVERAGE
47 reviews for:
Leaving Microsoft To Change The World: An Entrepreneur's Quest To Educate The World's Children
John Wood
3.95 AVERAGE
This is one page turner of a book! I admire the author's can-do attitude, and the change he has brought to universal education. The book is filled with success stories, so in comparison with other books on charity in the developing world, this one initially seemed a little too positive. However, I'm fully on board- he dreamt big and he achieved big - yes, he probably faced much adversity and failure, but he accomplished so much more, and that is what is worth sharing.
A well deserved break from a frenetic work schedule at the world's most renowned bellweather company for technology, Microsoft changed the world of John Wood, and unbeknownst to him at that time, the trajectory of a million little lives. A chance encounter with an education co-ordinaator Pasupathi, makes John Wood undertake a steep climb to one of the most impoverished schools in Nepal. This school in the idyllic but isolated setting of Bahunnanda, has a library that is not only decrepit but one whose books, for the purpose of preservation have been firmly locked away in a cabinet.
This image of an empty library racks John's peace and bliss and upon returning to his adopted city of Beijing, he arrives at a momentous decison of resigning his plum position of Marketing Director at Microsoft and committing himself to empowering childrens education.
This autobiography insipires, delights and amazes the reader in equal measure. The travails and tribulations faced by John Wood in setting up and consequently running his charitable organisation "Room to Read" is both enervating as well a fulfilling. Today as per the statistics published on its website (roomtoread.org), more than 1,900 schools with 17,000 libraries and 2,300 classrooms have been built across Nepal, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa. 9.7 million chldren are directly impacted by this noble endeavour of John Wood.
My personal exhortation would be for everybody to read this book and most importantly hit the website of John Wood's wonderful initiative and get involved in whichever way one finds it feasible.
"Leaving Microsoft" - A clarion call for making Planet Earth a better place than what it is today!
This image of an empty library racks John's peace and bliss and upon returning to his adopted city of Beijing, he arrives at a momentous decison of resigning his plum position of Marketing Director at Microsoft and committing himself to empowering childrens education.
This autobiography insipires, delights and amazes the reader in equal measure. The travails and tribulations faced by John Wood in setting up and consequently running his charitable organisation "Room to Read" is both enervating as well a fulfilling. Today as per the statistics published on its website (roomtoread.org), more than 1,900 schools with 17,000 libraries and 2,300 classrooms have been built across Nepal, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa. 9.7 million chldren are directly impacted by this noble endeavour of John Wood.
My personal exhortation would be for everybody to read this book and most importantly hit the website of John Wood's wonderful initiative and get involved in whichever way one finds it feasible.
"Leaving Microsoft" - A clarion call for making Planet Earth a better place than what it is today!
An inspiring story, once you get past the self-congratulatory tone (enough, already, about how talented you are, and enough with the Steve Ballmer anecdotes -- we get that he knew you by name and thought you were pretty bright).
Still, it's a great idea for a charity, and it really is inspiring to see someone leave a high-flying corporate job to dedicate himself to making a difference in the lives of kids. A quick and interesting read.
Still, it's a great idea for a charity, and it really is inspiring to see someone leave a high-flying corporate job to dedicate himself to making a difference in the lives of kids. A quick and interesting read.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this story is the business model of Room to Read, even though Room to Read is a nonprofit. The author talks about how they relay on donations of all kinds, not simply the ones from billionaires. They insist the community they build the school/library in must take part in the building of the school/library, this way the community feels a deeper connection to it. I think that's a really great point that I have never heard mentioned by other non-profits. If people don't feel a sense of ownership they won't care, but give them some responsibility and people will create the best product they can. Classic business model, no? They also ensure that they have local staff and partner with local businesses/governments. I think more and more non profits are realizing that they need to consult with the actual people who live in the country they are trying to "reform/improve." It's very refreshing and reassuring. I loved reading John Wood's explanation as to why Room to Read tries to fund raise from more than large donors "there simply are not enough billionaires out there to solve all of the world's problems. True change requires mass participation, because one person writing a large check is never enough. He could change his mind about the cause, or make bad investment decisions that deplete his capital, or die and leave his money to his heirs rather than to charity. To rely on just one person is quite risky, especially when the future of millions of people is at stake. The larger problem is that too many of the truly rich are loath to give away their fortune in any meaningful way. [...he then goes on to say...] The Andrew Carnegie of the 21st century will not be a rich white male. It will be a network of concerned global citizens, and we will create it" (pgs. 151-152), he's ambitious, determined, and optimistic. In short, everything I would expect a business person to be (obviously intelligent as well) with the rarity of being truly about service.
The added bonus of this inspirational and productive story is the behind-the-scenes look at Microsoft. He doesn't spend a lot of time talking about Bill & Melinda Gates but he does mention a time when he met Bill Gates. It's not the most flattering portrait but the author makes apologizes for why Gates might have acted the way he did. What I found even more interesting was the author describing his interview with Melinda French Gates, who was Bill Gates' girlfriend at the time. The position he was interviewing for would be under her supervision and while it was brief mention, it gave a tiny peek at Microsoft in the earlier days. Something that wasn't mentioned but that I'm curious about, is if the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports Room to Read? Furthermore the author is very pragmatic but also very fair. Perhaps I found him to be very fair because I can be very harsh and critical of people who I feel have been given much but do very little (which I am working on), regardless it's a wonderful quality to have. He discuses telling his girlfriend Sophie about his trip to Nepal and how amazing it was to deliver the books and his idea to do something similar but she isn't interested. "I reminded myself that despite her international postings, her strong preference was for the glamour of the expatriate life in a big city like London, Prague, or Paris. Large paychecks, housecleaners, and a full-time driver on call could make any city feel even better than home. My desire to strap on backpacks and 'go walk about' in the developing world held no appeal to her. We were both 'international', but in very different ways. This does not make either of us a better or worse person than the other" (pg. 43), I want the best of both worlds but I'm slowly realizing that it's not possible but that's Ok. I would rather "go walk about".
Room to Read was founded in 2000 and what makes this literacy organization really stand out is that it's run like a business, but the businesspeople actually have compassion. Room to Read is trying to sell you the importance of gender equality and raising literacy around the world, they have a business plan. Please consider donating to them, I know I will be (I will donate to them before I specifically profile the organization this weekend). John Wood seized the moment and created a dynamic non profit and this gives him a super-hero quality. He has human qualities though, he has doubts sometimes. Wood discusses his wish to own a home, to stay in a long-term relationship, to have more money to devote to a few small luxuries but at the end of the day he loves what he does. If only we all could be so lucky. I wish I could work for Room to Read but I'm not so sure I'd make it past the first round, it's a very competitive interviewing process! Which is as it should be, we need the best and the brightest working with nonprofits to change the world. Fortunately we have Room to Read and John Wood.
The added bonus of this inspirational and productive story is the behind-the-scenes look at Microsoft. He doesn't spend a lot of time talking about Bill & Melinda Gates but he does mention a time when he met Bill Gates. It's not the most flattering portrait but the author makes apologizes for why Gates might have acted the way he did. What I found even more interesting was the author describing his interview with Melinda French Gates, who was Bill Gates' girlfriend at the time. The position he was interviewing for would be under her supervision and while it was brief mention, it gave a tiny peek at Microsoft in the earlier days. Something that wasn't mentioned but that I'm curious about, is if the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports Room to Read? Furthermore the author is very pragmatic but also very fair. Perhaps I found him to be very fair because I can be very harsh and critical of people who I feel have been given much but do very little (which I am working on), regardless it's a wonderful quality to have. He discuses telling his girlfriend Sophie about his trip to Nepal and how amazing it was to deliver the books and his idea to do something similar but she isn't interested. "I reminded myself that despite her international postings, her strong preference was for the glamour of the expatriate life in a big city like London, Prague, or Paris. Large paychecks, housecleaners, and a full-time driver on call could make any city feel even better than home. My desire to strap on backpacks and 'go walk about' in the developing world held no appeal to her. We were both 'international', but in very different ways. This does not make either of us a better or worse person than the other" (pg. 43), I want the best of both worlds but I'm slowly realizing that it's not possible but that's Ok. I would rather "go walk about".
Room to Read was founded in 2000 and what makes this literacy organization really stand out is that it's run like a business, but the businesspeople actually have compassion. Room to Read is trying to sell you the importance of gender equality and raising literacy around the world, they have a business plan. Please consider donating to them, I know I will be (I will donate to them before I specifically profile the organization this weekend). John Wood seized the moment and created a dynamic non profit and this gives him a super-hero quality. He has human qualities though, he has doubts sometimes. Wood discusses his wish to own a home, to stay in a long-term relationship, to have more money to devote to a few small luxuries but at the end of the day he loves what he does. If only we all could be so lucky. I wish I could work for Room to Read but I'm not so sure I'd make it past the first round, it's a very competitive interviewing process! Which is as it should be, we need the best and the brightest working with nonprofits to change the world. Fortunately we have Room to Read and John Wood.
In 1998, John [Wood] took a vacation that changed his life. Trekking through a remote Himalayan village, he struck up conversation with a schoolteacher, who invited John to visit his school. There, John discovered that the few books available were so precious that they were kept under lock and key - to protect them from children! Fewer than 20 books, all backpacker cast-aways, were available for more than 450 students.
The above quote was plucked from an "About John Wood" section at the end of the book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, by former Microsoft executive John Wood. John tells a great story of a life and career change from hard charging Microsoft (where he worked from 1991 to 1998) to running a large scale non profit called Room to Read. This organization helps to build libraries, schools, reading rooms, computer centers, and funds scholarships for girls in countries as diverse as Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, South Africa and Zambia.
This book is chuck full of inspiration and engaging stories. pp85-86 tells a tale of John Wood's young life where at 5 years old, he made a stack of nickels and dimes selling paintings he had made to neighborhood families. After a stern talking-to by his mother never to go door-to-door selling paintings again, John was found counting out a bigger bounty. When asked about it, he replied that he hadn't gone behind his mother's back and sold another batch of paintings door-to-door - he had merely passed that job onto his best friend Jimmy, who took a penny commission for each sale, leaving John with the remaining 4 cents.
Going into a room of high earners and explaining to them how your charity is different from the 10 they heard of last week is difficult. If Room to Read had anything working for them, it was that John ran the operation with extremely low overhead. If you donated $8,000, there was a library built. You knew where your money went. This immediate visual pleased lots of donors and caused a great influx of funds for Room to Read. On one such fund raising event, John speaks to a room about donating money that would pay for 100 girls to continue their education. In the back of the room, laying in wait, was Don Listwin, legend in Silicon Valley, #2 executive at Cisco, then CEO of Openwave. Pleased with what he was hearing, Don enters (pp196-197):
I'm going to interrupt our regularly scheduled slide show with an announcement, and a challenge. There are more than fifty of you here tonight. For every one of you who sponsor a scholarship, and you have to write the check tonight, I will match you, dollar-for-dollar, girl-for-girl, year-for-year. You fund fifty and I will fund fifty. We need to do this. No excuses.
...
Furthermore, there are some people here who used to work for me at Cisco, and a few who work for me now at Openwave. I want them to pay attention to this next part. For every school that one of you underwrites tonight, I will match you school-for-school." Dramatic pause. "How about it, Mark?"
Mark, sitting one row in front of Don, emits a nervous laugh. He pauses, probably doing the math on how much money he's made while working for Don through some flush years in Silicon Valley. Realizing that $8,000 is probably a rounding error, he replies, "Count me in, Don!"
"Great. And how about you, Bill?" Don's eyes are laser-locked on his next target.
Poor Bill. He not only has Don's pressure on him, but Mark's example. "Count me in too, Don."
This book is filled with great stories of personal, organizational, and governmental generosity. For those who have worked a number of years in a field and want to do something different, John Wood gives us all a towering example of what is possible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it without hesitation. Bravo John!
Room to Read is operating today, and is taking donations now.
Room to Read website: roomtoread.org
To donate: roomtoread.org/involvement/donate.php
I follow Room to Read on Twitter. A few months ago, I added the Room to Read Twibbon (a twibbon is a tiny picture that's displayed on your Twitter avatar). A few minutes later, I got a message saying I was the 100th person to add the Twibbon. My prize was a free autographed copy of the book. Pretty cool.
This book demonstrates why Room to Read is an excellent organization. John Wood recounts a trip to Nepal in the 90's during which he was struck by the kindness of the people and the poverty in which they lived. From there, he describes leaving Microsoft to begin a nonprofit that build libraries in countries like Nepal. I admire the insane amount of work that John Wood put into founding RtR and I hope this book causes more people to support their work. While his writing might not win a Pulitzer, his story is inspiring.
This book demonstrates why Room to Read is an excellent organization. John Wood recounts a trip to Nepal in the 90's during which he was struck by the kindness of the people and the poverty in which they lived. From there, he describes leaving Microsoft to begin a nonprofit that build libraries in countries like Nepal. I admire the insane amount of work that John Wood put into founding RtR and I hope this book causes more people to support their work. While his writing might not win a Pulitzer, his story is inspiring.