Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works

...solving the world's problems so you don't have to.Granted, I could only get through about 30% of the book, so take my review with a grain of salt. But with the initial chapters and anecdotes, I feel justified in this decision and the headline for this review. The book begins with high praises for robber baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for having a nice idea to start free libraries. There is no enthralling or compelling history of how Andrew Carnegie crushed the immigrant employees in his steel factories and railroads with blood and force; how he suppressed wages leading to widespread poverty; and how he decimated the American labor movement, which was the only way workers could find a voice for their brutal working conditions. Furthermore, Carnegie built the libraries, wiped his hands of the trouble, and let the town's tax dollars and volunteers pay for themselves in perpetuity. He is no hero of mine, and we need to stop praising the "thoughtful deeds" of robber barons without a sober look at the dark side of whence their riches came, and their motivation to help the lower classes, which their norms created.The second anecdote is about a white woman who (helped to?) stop FGM in West Africa. That being said, it was unclear how her work qualified her a social enterprise, specifically.This book was incredibly dense and overwrought with mind-numbing charts and models about what separates social advocates from social service providers to social entrepreneurs. From what I read, the public sector is framed as a mostly lumbering bureaucracy, which adds to the stereotype that governments throughout the world are inefficient to solve the problems of the people who take the time to vote for their elected officials to help them do just that. But, decades of evidence shows that, when the public sector is supported, it works. From national health care to public schools to even food safety regulations and utility regulations, government can work when it is respected and well-funded. But when smart people rhetorically belittle government employees for being inefficient, ineffective,and concentrated only on widespread public good (as if that's a bad thing) - and we need fancy businessfolk to tell us how to do it better - it takes away from the power and legitimacy of democracy. This constant chipping away at the credibility of democracy and government for its ability to make social impact, I believe, it what has given risen to the autocratic governments we see today. I don't want to live in a world where social enterprise and Andrew Carnegie can provide nice libraries in exchange for worker safety laws, prevailing wages, social welfare programs, robust, affordable, non-competing health care, clean water, civil rights for marginalized people, reasonable military spending, etc. etc. We need more legal protections and public services for the average person, which only the vast, mission-driven scale of government can provide.For an interesting, compelling look at social impact and the public backlash against market-driven solutions in the new world order, check out the latest work by Anand Giridharadas. And in the future, maybe the authors adjust their introduction and wide-scale appraisal of Mr. Carnegie and his ilk. Carnegie's libraries are monuments to his wealth - and though they are enjoyed and supported by mostly tax dollars today, each of their origin stories are a spectacular failure of public policy.

the authors have continued to apply and develop a framework for this field which is still a work in progress in almost every way. it certainly has given me a lot to think about in the work we do at soles4souls.there are times it was a little abstract and i lost the thread but the examples were very helpful. would love to have a book group w other social entrepreneurs to work through how i can apply this and learn from other perspectives.definitely worth the price as I'm sure i'll reread this one multiple times!

In Getting Beyond Better, Sally Osberg and Roger Martin set out to discover the true nature and boundaries of social entrepreneurship. The authors are both visionary leaders who understand what it takes to drive large-scale change. And the book is essential reading for those seeking to make sense of this constantly evolving sector. For instance, what is social entrepreneurship? Who can legitimately be considered a social entrepreneur? By exploring these and similar questions, the authors arrive at a crisp definition and offer up a compelling framework, with rich examples of how social entrepreneurs go about achieving meaningful impact. Vicky Colbert of Escuela Nueva, Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank, and Andrea and Barry Coleman of Riders for Health are among some of the inspiring entrepreneurs whose stories are featured.Most importantly, the authors articulate and explore a powerful but often overlooked differentiator for social entrepreneurship: the concept of equilibrium change. And, they present a management-style approach for how to actually go about changing an equilibrium. It’s hands down the best guidebook on social entrepreneurship, and it's beautifully written. Highly recommended for first-time social entrepreneurs and their more seasoned peers!

I used this book as a required reading for a seminar I teach on Social Entrepreneurship at The University of Alabama. I know it helped my students recognize and relate to the characteristics we find in successful social entrepreneurs. It explains the difficult concept of creative destruction clearly. Sometimes the actual examples used to support a point were excellent, but some did not seem to connect. I plan on continuing to use the book as a major component of the seminar. One thing that worked well for me was assigning responsibility for discussion of a chapter to one of the students.

The Skoll Foundation, including its CEO Sally Osberg and board member Roger Martin has been at the center of curating the top social entrepreneurs in the world. This book is insight, very readable and represents a 'must read' for anyone interested in a world that drives more freedom, health and prosperity for all seven billion of us. While there are many books you might pick up I found this one distilled both the challenges and the way forward from the people who have been at the forefront of global change.

First few chapters are best.

This book offers an important and distinctive perspective on social enterprise but, for me, lacked depth. I had head a recent podcast on this, which was great but the book itself failed to communicate the power of the concept. Perhaps I was expecting too much ?

ENJOYED READING IT!

Últimamente se oye hablar bastante del concepto de "emprendeduría social", y todavía no tenía claro lo que significaba. Gracias a este libro he podido aclarar muchas dudas y ahora comprendo en mayor medida lo que es un emprendedor social. El libro explica los conceptos a través de casos paradigmáticos de emprendedores que han sido capaces de modificar un status quo perjudicial para un grupo concreto de personas. Los escritores han analizado los proyectos ganadores del premio a la emprendeduría social de la fundación Skoll y han sido capaces de abstraer los principios que guían las maneras de actuar de los emprendedores sociales más exitoso, que explican de forma amena en su libro. Un libro imprescindible para entender mejor una disciplina todavía muy reciente como la emprendeduría social.

this is an example of good book. This is perfect for someone who heard of social enterprise and curies how it works. Book provide clear defenitions and examples on what social entrepreneurship is. how it works, and how one can succeed doing it.

No doubt this book and content are super great but the book arrived with ripped out pages and a moldy cover......What is going on?