John Wood, former Microsoft executive and founder of Room to Read (www.RoomtoRead.org), made a promise to a school headmaster while he was backpacking in rural Nepal. He returned a year later with 3,000 books to fill the school’s empty library. In his memoir, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John explains, “Did it really matter how many copies of Windows we sold in Taiwan this month when there were millions of children without access to books?” Founding Room to Read, John Wood wove corporate business practices with his inspiring vision to provide educational access to 10 million children in the developing world. His novel approach to non-profit management includes:

•    Scalable, measured, sustainable results
•    Low-overhead, allowing maximum investment in educational infrastructure
•    Challenge grants fostering community ownership and sustainability
•    Strong local staff and partnerships creating culturally relevant programs



The following is an excerpt of great advice from John Wood in his case study (just 1 of 27 and #4 in this Social Edge series) from The Tactics of Hope:

“I’ve talked to a lot of business people who want to follow their passion but don’t know how. I think there’s two common themes that prevent individuals from following their passion. One is that too many people make the mistake of thinking that whatever they do next they have to do for the rest of their lives, and the other is getting caught up in the trap of thinking that they have to receive permission to follow their dream. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard former Wall Street analysts say, “I want to do this, but my spouse doesn’t think it’s a good idea, I have kids, and my parents think it’s silly.” 

Stop asking for permission. It’s your life, and your life only. In deciding what is important to you, you can then get clear about your vision and encourage others to rally behind you. So take that risk. It may ultimately be the most rewarding decision of your life.

    When we started, it was on a severely limited budget in 2003. We began in one country, Nepal, in one language, and with ten titles. I worked for no salary the first four years. This thing was held together with chicken wire and band-aids. Now we’re doing 100 titles a year in eleven languages. And we keep going. The critical key to our success is the relentless tracking, measuring, and publicizing of our results. On every email our team sends in a day, there’s no legal verbiage, just our name, title, and results, which we update quarterly: 3,600 libraries, 287 schools.

Big thinking is a key to our model. In the charity and NGO world, there’s often this scarcity mentality where people are afraid there’s not enough funding out there. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my days at Microsoft, there is certainly enough wealth in this world; you just have to find it. At fundraising events, I’ve heard people say to the audience, “Even if you can only give $5 that’s ok.”  No!  While that comes across as gracious and humble, it in fact signals to potential investors that the organization is afraid or apologizing to ask for money. Don’t talk your donors down; talk them up.
Among our investor community, I constantly repeat the same facts, as if I’m approaching my company board with a business opportunity that cannot be missed. “There’s 800 million people in the developing world who are illiterate,” I tell them, “Think big with me, that’s 800 million individuals we have the privilege of educating.”

    Many people ask what advice I have to entrepreneurs starting their own organization. There are three steps I can think of:

1.    Hire logistical support early on in the venture,
2.    Think big, focus maniacally on results and celebrate small victories when you achieve them.
3.    Find someone local who is well qualified to run operations. We were fortunate to find Denesh Shrestha, a Nepalese businessman who has been entirely dedicated to our vision in Asia. Indigenous partnerships are essential; local organizations may be much better than you can ever hope to be at meeting needs in their part of the world.

The worst mistake a startup social entrepreneur can make is talking yourself into not growing. Every success we have had since our inception is a step to our ultimate goal, focusing big. For us, this means lifelong education for 10 million children across the developing world. What do you want to accomplish? Think big, and then go do it.

Scaling Room to Read over the last three years since its founding, John has applied the rigor of business to the ethic of education, innovating an expansive growth model that will soon provide 10 million children the lifelong opportunity of reading and learning.



You can read more stories like these at www.TacticsofHope.org/resources
Photos courtesy of Room to Read 2008 (c)