Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children...

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children | John Wood | Inspiring to Action

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Leaving Microsoft ...

	Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children John Wood Collins, 2006 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 51 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

a must-read

This is a fantastic book - for people in the business or the non-profit world who want to be inspired by a single individual's ability to produce amazing results. Its an unapologetic look at what it takes - personally and professionally - to accomplish the most daunting of goals. John and Erin's model clearly works and will continue to scale and change the lives of generations and generations of families around the world. Literacy is one of the most powerful tools in any country.

This is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered, "how can I make a difference?" I suggested this for book club and everyone loved it ... I also gave this book to a number of friends at Christmas and received rave reviews back.

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Inspiring to Action

John Wood saw a desperate need in Nepal and did not turn away. Utilizing his organizational skills and his personal contacts he created a method of providing schools and books to the poor people of SE Asia. He is making a huge difference in the lives of young people of the world. Too bad he is not our president!

John Wood is an inspiration

I bought 15 copies of John Wood's book to give as Christmas presents after having the opportunity to hear him speak. Instead of just having high ideals he has the business skills to make the ideals and ideas a reality. It's great to know that the money he is given is really going to do good rather than to excessive overhead. His book is also very "open book" about his personal struggles with creating the magic that he has.

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A good short read

In "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children," John Wood wrote about how he left Microsoft to start a non-profit organization to provide education opportunities for Nepalese children. At the beginning of the book, John wrote about how he realized his passion and how he left a lucrative expatriate compensation from Microsoft to do what he thought was right. Eighty-percent of the book centered around his work of starting a non-profi, called Room to Read, and focusing mostly on the fundraising. aspect. He also wrote about the difficulties of securing funds and just to run the organization in general. This book would be great for those who are interested in starting their own non-profits as it shows very clearly that it is not an easy thing to do. Soon, Room to Read expanded to other countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam.

It is an interesting book for me as Room to Read sounds like a great organization with a great leader who passionaltely believes in his work. Judging by the success of his fundraising efforts, I am almost certain that he is a great and motivational speaker. It is truly sad to read about the lack of educational facilities in some countries and also the need to help others.

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amazing progress in so little time

John Wood made amazing progress with Room to Read going from nothing to four countries and a million donated books in five years. Reading John's story, I felt like a close friend being let in on a personal tale. The downside is that instead of being a business book or a guide for charities (my expectation) _Leaving_Microsoft_ turned out to be a great story about one guy doing lots of good in the world. John's perspective is different from most of us (the ex-VP of Microsoft laments that he can "only rent" in San Francisco while all of his buddies are creating millions in wealth... to be able to rent in and have an office in San Francisco would be wonderful). Would have liked more structure to the stories highlighting what worked and what didn't with less personal reflection. Seems like John is wandering in the desert happening on water not sure why he got there but confident that he will find more (which he always does). Again, great story and a fast read.

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