Room to Read

I am so fired up. Yesterday coming home from Thanksgiving travels I read Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. I loved it. Every minute. Of course, it helps that the author, John Wood, used to be in technology marketing. And now he's building libraries. Okay, okay--so those ARE two of my favorite topics of conversation.

But mainly I love the way he thinks. Every situation he describes, he's always thinking about the consumer, the other person, and the way a message is going to be perceived by that listener. Explaining What's In It For Me (WIIFM) to your audience--be it the government of China or a 10 year-old boy--has been writ large on this guy's psyche.

He's an entrepreneur extraordinaire. And he thinks BIG. For anyone who's dreamed of becoming Mother Theresa but doesn't know where to start...this book lets you dream vicariously and then still realize you can contribute AND keep your day job.

There were also a couple of sections that existing libraries may want to note. One was about communicating your results to potential funders. The idea is that people have thousands of charities to choose from. Give people every reason possible to pick yours.

Here's the killer quotation, IMO:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work."
--Thomas Edison

Check out the video, Web site and Room to Read itself.


What an inspiring way to come back to work after a long weekend!