A Reading List to Inspire Social and Environmental Impact—and Profound Change
It can be easy to get overwhelmed today.
Despondent, even. The constant news cycle can leave us feeling morose, like the bad always swallows the good. But this is only a facet of the truth. The full picture shows a world filled with people charged with hope who are successfully making impactful, lasting change for good. There are the impact investors putting capital toward advanced environmental research. The B Corporations providing well-paying, empowering jobs for their employees. The social justice lawyers fighting for systemic reform and against racial bias. And the companies creating socially and environmentally conscious goods, enticing customers to be more responsible. Each of these books shows this full picture. They tell stories of people, companies, and ideas that are shifting the world to one that is responsible and just—providing reason for us all to do our part.
Real Impact by Morgan Simon
In her book, Real Impact, Morgan Simon delivers a roadmap for anyone looking to effectively use their capital to create true systemic change. A longtime activist and impact investor, Simon has become a respected sage in the field, having spent the last two decades actively forging an impressive path that merges finance and justice. (She's the co-founder of Toniic, the global action community of impact investors, as well as the Candide Group, an investment advising firm that directs capital toward social good.) Simon brings her experience to the page, illustrating how to smartly merge socially and environmentally focused visions with capital to result in sustainable transformation rather than temporarily mollifying outcomes. This book is deft and extremely detailed in its information, but Simon breaks it down into digestible chapters. It's ultimately a beacon for a global message that we all need to hear: Opportunities to help restructure the global economy for the better abound—and it's our responsibility to take them. As Simon writes, what stands in front of us “is the opportunity we have to get this right."
The Compass and the Nail: How the Patagonia Model of Loyalty Can Save Your Business, and Might Just Save the Plane by Craig Wilson
The Compass and the Nail provides a layered, insightful methodology for businesses looking to build fierce brand loyalty. Written by Craig Wilson, a brand advisor and the former lead strategist for consumer marketing at Patagonia, the book illuminates how businesses can garner a fandom, and the responsibility they have within this to entice, inspire, and invoke change for good. There is still too high of a demand for goods and services made in socially and irresponsible ways. What's needed is for companies to create products in conscious ways, which will make for a more "responsible economy," as Wilson writes. The key is for companies to build a loyal customer base in order to bolster their success. But what's compelling about Wilson's approach here is how he flips the switch on the issue, putting the responsibility on the consumer, too. He posits that the drivers of market change depend on those who do the purchasing, supporting, reading, consuming, and cheering of the products. "The truth is, we—the buying public—choose the companies that serve us, and therefore defeat or propel their actions." As long as we continue to swell a demand for items or services coming from socially and environmentally irresponsible companies, the bad will outweigh the good. But there's hope. A growing number of businesses are balancing purpose with profit, making their impact on community, customers, employees, and the planet paramount. The secret in designing a "responsible economy," as Wilson writes, is binary: The companies doing good need to effectively market and build brand loyalty in order to succeed; and the customers need to be discerning and support the endeavors making a positive impact. And Wilson provides guidance for both sides of the coin.
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy is a memoir, a clarion call for social justice, and an incendiary example of how one person's efforts can make an impact that echoes—and ultimately evoke others to do the same. Longtime activist and civil rights lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, tells his story of when he first began working as a lawyer in the criminal justice system and the integral injustices he continuously witnessed. It starts in the late 1980s when he was representing Walter McMillian, a man wrongly sent to death row for murder. McMillian's case engulfed Stevenson in a battle against political corruption, mass incarceration, racism, systemic biases, and false convictions. Stevenson tells of McMillian’s brutal and unjust circumstances with a deep empathy, writing that McMillian opened his eyes to the dire need to reform the current criminal justice system, which "continues to treat people better if they are rich and guilty if they are poor and innocent.” The book, which was recently made into a feature film, is a must-read about the true injustices happening behind-the-scenes, and also about Stevenson's continued efforts to create needed systemic change. As the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, the Legacy Museum, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Stevenson is a leader who is inspiring hope and changing history with every innocent person he liberates.
The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century by Adam Davidson
Adam Davidson is shifting the mindset around entrepreneurism in his new book, The Passion Economy. Starting a business, he posits, does not have to mean a giant endeavor that takes over Silicon Valley or grabs a large piece of the global economy. A business can be small, measured, and have deep impact for both the founder and the customer. Businesses can be driven by passion, Davidson says, and make for a happy, meaningful life. Pulling from his years of experience writing about the economy and business for The New Yorker, and later broadcasting his research through his NPR show Planet Money, Davidson tells numerous stories of people who turned their passions into a thriving business filled with purpose and satisfaction. This book offers a guide for anyone looking to merge their interests and social purpose with their work. "With a handful of easy-to-learn rules, a shift of perspective, and a bit of hard work, a meaningful marriage of passion and business can be forged, and far more people can do a whole lot better."
Manifesto for a Moral Revolution by Jacqueline Novogratz
Activist, philanthropist, impact investor, author, and speaker Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a twenty-year-old movement and global community comprised of people charged with the mission to end poverty. Novogratz and her colleagues have created a gigantic shift in how the corporate world looks at and uses capital, motivating so many to put their money—and time—toward world purpose. In Novogratz's new book, Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, she unveils the wisdom she's gained over thirty years while working in the fields of social impact, sustainable solutions, and business-for-good. It's an insightful honest read for anyone looking to truly create change, leave the world a better place, and help their fellow human.