How social entrepreneurs are doing what governments can't (or won't) do.
4/12/2004
Have you ever seen a problem in your community and thought, If I were in charge, things would be different? Author David Bornstein writes about people around the world who realized they could no longer simply wait for someone else to do something. Chapters focus on inspirational stories of entrepreneurs who have stepped in where their leaders and governments failed. A woman from India started a grassroots program called Childline—a 911-styled initiative to help improve children's rights and welfare. In Brazil, a doctor frustrated at hospital readmittance among the poor started a nonprofit to improve preventive and follow-up care. Talking to social entrepreneurs around the world, Bornstein was struck by the similarities among the people and their success stories. In the chapter "Six Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs," he breaks common stereotypes, finding that effective personal qualities included willingness to self-correct, share credit, and work quietly. By revealing the workings of what he refers to as the "citizen sector," Bornstein has written a book that is both inspiring and instructive.—Manda Salls