How to Change The World

Social Entrepreneurs And the Power of New Ideas

Author: David Bornstein

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date of Publication: 2004
ISBN: 0 -1951-3805 - 8
About the Author Number of Pages: 320 pages

David Bornstein The Big Idea

This book documents the true and inspiring stories of the Ashoka
David Bornstein is the
author of The Price of a Dream: fellows - bright, energetic, and creative individuals who are leaders
The Story of the Grameen in a growing citizen (non-profit) sector. These innovators for the
Bank , which chronicles the public are instrumental in introducing change in their countries
worldwide growth of the anti- through practical solutions. Most of them started out with tiny
poverty strategy “micro-credit.”
The Price of a Dream, which drew
budgets, armed only with an idea and strength of will.
on ten months of research in
villages in Bangladesh, won From Ashoka founder Bill Drayton, to Brazil's Vera Cordeiro, to
second prize in the Harry Chapin South Africa's Veronica Khosa, or India's Jeroo Billimoria, the book
Media Awards, was a finalist for the
also includes a chapter to illustrate the spirit of one of the first social
Helen Bernstein New York Public
Library Book Award for Excellence entrepreneurs- Florence Nightingale. These individuals are models
in Journalism, and was selected by of human capability. They worked tirelessly in the service of others.
the San Francisco Chronicle as one
of the best business books of
1996.
Bornstein's articles have Why Ashoka?
appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Ashoka is named after the great Indian emperor who unified South
The New York Times, New York Asia in the third century B.C. He pioneered in economic
Newsday, Il Mundo (Italy), Defis
Sud (Belgium) and other
development and social welfare. In Sanskrit, Ashoka means the
publications. He co-wrote the two- “active absence of sorrow”.
hour PBS documentary series "To
Our Credit," which focuses on For the organization's logo, Drayton chose an oak tree, because
“micro-credit" programs in five the oak provides a place where villagers meet. It is a tree that
countries.
comforts people in its shade, spreads its roots far and deep, and is
Bornstein received a
resistant to drought.
Bachelor of Commerce degree
from McGill University in Montreal
and a Masters of Arts from New
York University. In addition to
writing, he has worked as a
c o m p u t e r p r o g ra m m e r a n d
systems analyst. He lives in New Published by BusinessSummaries, Building 3005 Unit 258, 4440 NW 73rd Ave, Miami, Florida 33166
York City with his wife and son. ©2003 BusinessSummaries All rights reserved. No part of this summary may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior notice of
BusinessSummaries.com
 How to Change the World By David Bornstein

Selecting Ashoka Material

Fellows who qualify receive an annual stipend that allows them to dive into their work
full-time. The Ashoka fellows are innovative because they are dedicated to instituting
programs and building foundations, creating and modifying systems that were non-
existent, trailblazing new ideas in areas where most governments fail to provide
long-term solutions.

These social entrepreneurs are passionate about making their part of the world a
better place, and know exactly how to go about it.

Social Entrepreneurs Around the Globe

Ashoka invests in people. Its roster of social entrepreneurs is made of people who
build their programs from nothing, drawing strength and energy from the sheer belief
that change can happen. They challenge governments to pass and enforce new
laws, generate funding, and support their solutions.

This book concentrates on nine stories: Fabio Rosa, Bill Drayton, Jeroo Billimoria,
Erzsebet Szekeres, Vera Cordeiro, J.B. Schramm, Veronica Khosa, Javed Abidi,
and James Grant.

Restless People
Today graduating students all over the world see a career in the NGO or non-profit
sector as a possible life path. The growth of the citizen public service sector is
happening on an unprecedented scale. They are offering long-term solutions and
better systems, advocating something more practical than the traditionally wasteful
practice of using foreign development aid and highly paid consultants who press
their advice on corrupt governments.

Social entrepreneurs and business entrepreneurs are merging in some areas,

creating a fascinating hybrid of the socially aware business- combining profitability
with social responsibility.

Today, demand for these social entrepreneurs is on the rise.

Ashoka and other organizations like it are springing up around the world, acting as
new types of social Venture Capitalists, investing in the future of developing nations
and creating a global fraternity of proactive solution-builders.

From Little Acorns Do Great Trees Grow

Bill Drayton, Ashoka Founder
· Attended Harvard College, studied Economics at Oxford, and completed a
J.D. at Yale Law School.

[2]
 How to Change the World By David Bornstein

· Worked for five years at the management consulting firm McKinsey &
Company, the Rolls Royce of consulting firms.

· 1977 - Joined the Environmental Protection Agency, battled with

government bureaucrats, budget cuts, and an all-out attack by the new
administration.

· 1978, 1979 - Drayton took exploratory trips to India, Indonesia, and South
America with colleagues to answer the question: “Is it possible to create a
system that spots pattern-changing ideas and first-class social
entrepreneurs before they are proven?”

· 1981 - Drayton starts collecting names of potential social entrepreneurs on

3” x 5” cards. The first Ashoka fellow elected is Gloria de Souza, an
elementary school teacher in Bombay who pioneered experiential and
environmental education, or EVS. Her teaching method is the antithesis of
rote learning, which was the predominant way of learning in India.

Gloria de Souza, Education Reformer

· 1982 - De Souza was granted a four-year living stipend of $10,000. She then
founded Parisar Asha - Sanskrit for “hope for the environment” and formed
her team.

· Her 0EVS approach or Environmental Studies method is proven to increase

students' performance.

· 1985 - De Souza persuades a municipal school board to introduce EVS in

1,700 schools.

· 1988 - A million students were learning according to her method.

· Each year she improves the curriculum, extends EVS to other cities, and
looks for creative ways to adapt the method to different locations and tribal or
rural areas.

Fabio Rosa: Rural Electrification

· 1982 - Twenty-two year old Fabio Rosa, an agronomic engineering
graduate, thinks of how to address the problem of irrigating farmer's rice
plantations in Palmares, where wealthy landowners who charged a high
price owned most of the existing water systems.

· Fabio Rosa works with Prof. Ennio Amaral who designed a one-wire system
or “monophase” in which a single wire carries power to a house via a
transformer, using cheaper materials. Rosa realizes this approach reduced
the cost of electricity - thus freeing farmers from high-priced water systems.
With the monophase design, the farmers could drop wells and irrigate land
[3]
 How to Change the World By David Bornstein

independently.

· Rosa tells villages he could provide electricity for the price of a cow.

· 1988 - 400 rural families receive electricity for only $400 per family, less than
the previous government system, which would have cost $7,000. Seventy-
five per cent of farmers buy water pumps; 80% buy refrigerators and
television sets.

· Incomes jumped from fifty to eighty dollars a month to two to three hundred
dollars a month.

· 130 out of 400 Palmares residents were among those who had returned
from the big cities because of rural electrification.

· 1992 - Rosa establishes STA or Agro electric Adequate Technology

Systems, for-profit company, to spread photovoltaic solar energy (a system
that converts sunlight into electricity) across Brazil.

· 2001 - Rosa receives an honor from the Schwab Foundation, along with
forty social entrepreneurs from around the world.

· Rosa also wins a $50,000 Tech Museum of Innovation Award for applying
technology to benefit humanity.

· 2002 - Solar Development Group of Washington, D.C. invests in The Sun

Shines for All. Rosa also receives support from the Quiron Project, and
Avina Foundation.

Florence Nightingale: A Woman of Indomitable Will

· 1845 - At age 25, Nightingale expresses a desire to work as a nurse in
Salisbury hospital. Her father forbids her. In Victorian times, women of good
family did not work. The nursing profession was not yet considered part of
the medical profession. Nursing was listed on government forms under
“Domestic” occupations.

· On trips to London and other European capitals, Nightingale tours hospitals,

slums, and convalescent homes. She reads reports from sanitary
authorities and medical commissions.

· A friend sends her a copy of the yearbook of the Institution of Protestant

Deaconesses at Kaiserwerth, Germany. The institute trains girls of good
character to nurse the sick. She fights with her parents for four years until
they finally permit her to take the course.

· A suitor offers her marriage, but Nightingale declines, wishing to remain

independent so she can carry out her work.
[4]
 How to Change the World By David Bornstein

· 1853 - At age 33, Nightingale accepts an unpaid position as superintendent

at Institution for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in London. She gains a good
reputation as an excellent administrator.

· 1854 - Her friend Sidney Herbert, secretary at war, writes her asking to take
charge of nursing in military hospitals during the Crimean War.

· Nightingale raises funds from private donations, and organizes 38 nurses.

Upon arrival in Constantinople, she immediately sets to work sanitizing the
filthy environment, registering patients and treating soldiers.

· 1855 - The mortality rate in British army hospitals drops from 43% down to
just 2%.

· 1858 - With the aid of the statistician William Farr, Nightingale produces and
prints, at her own expense, the 800-page Notes on Matters Affecting the
Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army.
Nightingale pioneers the use of “pie charts” to show statistical data and
illustrate the need for change.

· 1859 - Nightingale publishes first edition of Notes on Hospitals, which

revolutionized the way modern hospitals were constructed.

· 1860 - Published Notes on Nursing: What it Is and What it is Not.

· 1860 - Established the Nightingale Training School for Nurses.

· Around 1880's-1890's - The British Census forms reclassified the

occupation of Nursing under “Medicine”.

Jeroo Billimoria: 10-9-8 Childline!

· At age twenty, Jeroo's father passes away, causing her to reassess her
life plans. She switches from accounting to social work. She enrolls in
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to do post-graduate studies.

· Studies nonprofit management at the New School for Social Research in

New York City.

· Involves herself in Coalition for the Homeless in New York.

· 1989 - Returns to India, travels for six months before joining TISS as an
instructor.

· She gives out her phone number to street kids who may need assistance,
and gets calls at all hours.

[5]
 How to Change the World By David Bornstein

· Jeroo proposes the idea of coordinating services with different

organizations, but her proposal falls on deaf ears.

· 1991 - Founded Meljol (Coming Together) to bring together children from

diverse backgrounds to work on projects with tangible social benefits such
as building playgrounds, cleaning up schools, and creating anti-smoking
campaigns.

· 1993 - Still constantly receiving late night phone calls, Jeroo realizes
children need an emergency service. Bombay police turned her down, so
she went to the DOT or Dept of Telecommunications to inquire about setting
up an emergency hotline.

· Jeroo writes letters to DOT officials in Bombay and Delhi.

· She conducts her own survey and almost all street kids said they would use
the service.

· Jeroo recruits a team of students to compile a directory of child service

organizations in Bombay.

· Jeroo sets up meetings to encourage participation in Childline.

· She raises funds to establish two call centers. The initial budget is $6,000
and the staff is composed of fifteen people.

· Ratan Tata Trust and Concern India Foundation grant support.

· 1996 - DOT grants Childline the use of telephone number 1098. Childline is
officially launched.

· Street children, volunteers and team members organize plays outdoors at

bus stations, railway stations, slums, and hospitals to raise awareness about
Childline.

· 1997 - Jeroo takes her leave of TISS to devote herself fully to Childline, she
soon is elected as an Ashoka fellow.

· 1998 - Jeroo writes the joint secretary of India's Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment to propose bringing Childline to other cities.

· 1999 - Childline is registered as a government initiative and given national

control over 1098.

· 2002 - Childline spread to 42 cities, following a franchise set-up.

· 2003 - Child Helpline International is launched.

[6]
 How to Change the World By David Bornstein

The Six Qualities of Successful Social Entrepreneurs

Apart from possessing dogged determination and a sincere motivation, the common
characteristics shared by social entrepreneurs are shown below:

1. Social entrepreneurs display willingness to self-correct. They are not

attached to one right way of doing things. They are willing to modify plans,
adjust details, and work around barriers. They are willing to admit mistakes.
Most stumble around at first and then use the mistake to improve their
projects.

2. Social entrepreneurs have a willingness to share the credit.

3. Social entrepreneurs are willing to break free of established

structures.

4. Social entrepreneurs cross disciplinary boundaries, pulling together

people from diverse backgrounds who can work together to create a
solution

5. Social entrepreneurs display a willingness to work quietly in the

background. They don't make front-page headlines. James Grant was such
a moving force in global immunization programs for children, saving millions
of lives, but his name is unfamiliar to the man on the street.

6. Social entrepreneurs have strong ethical impetus. Money is only a tool

they use to drive their programs and get projects moving forward.
Everything else, from the books they read to the ideas they support, is
filtered through the prism of their thinking.

The happiness of social entrepreneurs does not lie in making a lot of money
but in building a better world. They prefer to be part of the solution than part
of the problem. Like most people with great passion, they are practically
married to their work.

[7]
ABOUT BUSINESSSUMMARIES BusinessSummaries.com is a business book summaries service. Every week, it sends
out to subscribers a 9- to 12-page summary of a best-selling business book chosen from among the hundreds of books printed
out in the United States every week. For more information, please go to http://www.bizsum.com.