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The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest Problems
Government Alone Can’t Solve Society’s Biggest Problems
World hunger. Climate change. Crumbling infrastructure. It’s clear that in today’s era of fiscal constraints and political gridlock, we can no longer turn to government alone to tackle these and other towering social problems. What’s required is a new, more collaborative and productive economic system. The Solution Revolution brings hope—revealing just such a burgeoning new economy where players from across the spectrum of business, government, philanthropy, and social enterprise converge to solve big problems and create public value.
By erasing public-private sector boundaries, the solution economy is unlocking trillions of dollars in social benefit and commercial value. Where tough societal problems persist, new problem solvers are crowdfunding, ridesharing, app-developing, or impact-investing to design innovative new solutions for seemingly intractable problems. Providing low-cost health care, fighting poverty, creating renewable energy, and preventing obesity are just a few of the tough challenges that also represent tremendous opportunities for those at the vanguard of this movement. They create markets for social good and trade solutions instead of dollars to fill the gap between what government can provide and what citizens need.
So what drives the solution economy? Who are these new players and how are their roles changing? How can we grow the movement? And how can we participate?
Deloitte’s William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan answer these questions and more, and they introduce us to the people and organizations driving the revolution—from edgy social enterprises growing at a clip of 15 percent a year, to megafoundations, to Fortune 500 companies delivering social good on the path to profit. Recyclebank, RelayRides, and LivingGoods are just a few of the innovative organizations you’ll read about in this book.
Government cannot handle alone the huge challenges facing our global society—and it shouldn’t. We need a different economic paradigm that can flexibly draw on resources, combine efforts, and create value, while improving the lives of citizens. The Solution Revolution shows the way.
World hunger. Climate change. Crumbling infrastructure. It’s clear that in today’s era of fiscal constraints and political gridlock, we can no longer turn to government alone to tackle these and other towering social problems. What’s required is a new, more collaborative and productive economic system. The Solution Revolution brings hope—revealing just such a burgeoning new economy where players from across the spectrum of business, government, philanthropy, and social enterprise converge to solve big problems and create public value.
By erasing public-private sector boundaries, the solution economy is unlocking trillions of dollars in social benefit and commercial value. Where tough societal problems persist, new problem solvers are crowdfunding, ridesharing, app-developing, or impact-investing to design innovative new solutions for seemingly intractable problems. Providing low-cost health care, fighting poverty, creating renewable energy, and preventing obesity are just a few of the tough challenges that also represent tremendous opportunities for those at the vanguard of this movement. They create markets for social good and trade solutions instead of dollars to fill the gap between what government can provide and what citizens need.
So what drives the solution economy? Who are these new players and how are their roles changing? How can we grow the movement? And how can we participate?
Deloitte’s William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan answer these questions and more, and they introduce us to the people and organizations driving the revolution—from edgy social enterprises growing at a clip of 15 percent a year, to megafoundations, to Fortune 500 companies delivering social good on the path to profit. Recyclebank, RelayRides, and LivingGoods are just a few of the innovative organizations you’ll read about in this book.
Government cannot handle alone the huge challenges facing our global society—and it shouldn’t. We need a different economic paradigm that can flexibly draw on resources, combine efforts, and create value, while improving the lives of citizens. The Solution Revolution shows the way.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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January 6, 2014
The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest Problems by Williams D. Eggers, Paul Macmillan
"The Solution Revolution" is a fantastic book that introduces a new economic paradigm to solve society's problems. Deloitte's William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan show readers how players from across boundaries (government, business and philanthropists) come together to address tough societal problems. This is an invaluable resource that illustrates the power of collaboration. This enlightening 306-page book includes the following seven chapters: 1. The Wavemakers, 2. Disruptive Technologies, 3. Business Models That Scale, 4. The Currencies, 5. Public-Value Exchanges, 6. The Ecosystems, and 7. Creating Your Own Solution Revolution.
Positives:
1. A well-researched, well-written book. It's inspirational and engaging.
2. Excellent and important topic. Collaboration that leads to the public good.
3. Excellent format that includes a great summary at the end of each chapter.
4. Countless business cases that clearly show the new economic paradigm in action.
5. Even handed, the authors were careful to appear politically neutral.
6. Clearly shows the need for this new paradigm, "Society is witnessing a step change in how it deals with its own problems--a shift from a government-dominated model to one in which government is just one player among many."
7. The central theme of the book up front. "This is a central idea behind the solution revolution: social impact becomes a form of currency with real value to millions--from foundations to governments to venture philanthropists to individual citizens."
8. The six principal features of the solution economy. "* Wavemakers, who solve problems * Disruptive technologies * Business models that scale * Impact currencies * Public-value exchanges * Solution ecosystems"
9. The players engaged in delivering societal solutions. "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the single most influential philanthropic organization in the world."
10. Great facts. "Today, private philanthropy to the developing world surpasses the monetary contributions of all governments combined."
11. Multirational multinationals, "Partnering with Kamen to expand access to clean water supports Coca-Cola's already far-reaching clean-water initiatives."
12. Well-defined useful terms. "Innovators that mix profit making and social missions fall into two broad categories. First are those whose societal mission is front and center, but for which the market is their instrument of change. These innovators are known as social enterprises."
13. The underrated purchasing power of the marginalized. "One previously marginalized population capturing significant interest is the world's 4 billion people at the `base of the pyramid.' This group collectively represents $5 trillion in purchasing power."
14. The power of "crowdsourcing".
15. Great examples throughout the book, "The Recyclebank model instead sidesteps punitive measures altogether in favor of an incentive-based solution. It was a classic case of carrot versus stick--except that Recyclebank bet on the carrot."
16. Great examples of business models that surpass current public service approaches. "Two Haitian social entrepreneurs, Jean-Ronel Noel and Alex Georges, for example, learned integrated circuit engineering from MIT's OpenCourseWare and subsequently used the knowledge to erect more than five hundred solar street lamps in Haiti's poorest communities."
17. How the solution economy is being reshaped by a new definition of currencies.
18. New platforms that match capital to societal needs. "After returning to Australia, Goldbloom taught himself to write code and launched Kaggle, kick-starting a global exchange of algorithms. Kaggle organizes competitions according to specific data problems, with the most accurate predictive model winning."
19. A great example on affordable housing.
20. A guide on how to change the world.
21. Links and great supporting material.
Negatives:
1. The book is so focused on providing positive information that it misses an opportunity to address a lot of the problems or special challenges (there is one example dealing with the special challenges facing entrepreneurs but they are few and far between).
2. No formal bibliography.
In summary, I really enjoyed this book. It provides valuable information on how collaboration between government, business and philanthropists lead to solving society's toughest problems. It's engaging, well written and illustrates clearly the value these movements have to the better public. I can provide unlimited praise, I highly recommend it!
Further recommendations: "Platform: Get Noticed ina Noisy World" by Michael Hyatt, "Collaborate or Perish!: Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World" by William Bratton and Zachary Tumin, "Outliers: The Story of Success" and "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell, "Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future" by Leonard A. Schlesinger, "The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following" by Kevin Allen, "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller, "Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard" by Chip and Dan Heath, "Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business" by Thor Muller and Lane Becker "inGenius" by Tina Seelig, "Work with Me" by Barbara Annis and John Gray, "Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't" by Jeffrey Pfeffer, "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg, "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success" by Rick Newman, and "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink.
"The Solution Revolution" is a fantastic book that introduces a new economic paradigm to solve society's problems. Deloitte's William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan show readers how players from across boundaries (government, business and philanthropists) come together to address tough societal problems. This is an invaluable resource that illustrates the power of collaboration. This enlightening 306-page book includes the following seven chapters: 1. The Wavemakers, 2. Disruptive Technologies, 3. Business Models That Scale, 4. The Currencies, 5. Public-Value Exchanges, 6. The Ecosystems, and 7. Creating Your Own Solution Revolution.
Positives:
1. A well-researched, well-written book. It's inspirational and engaging.
2. Excellent and important topic. Collaboration that leads to the public good.
3. Excellent format that includes a great summary at the end of each chapter.
4. Countless business cases that clearly show the new economic paradigm in action.
5. Even handed, the authors were careful to appear politically neutral.
6. Clearly shows the need for this new paradigm, "Society is witnessing a step change in how it deals with its own problems--a shift from a government-dominated model to one in which government is just one player among many."
7. The central theme of the book up front. "This is a central idea behind the solution revolution: social impact becomes a form of currency with real value to millions--from foundations to governments to venture philanthropists to individual citizens."
8. The six principal features of the solution economy. "* Wavemakers, who solve problems * Disruptive technologies * Business models that scale * Impact currencies * Public-value exchanges * Solution ecosystems"
9. The players engaged in delivering societal solutions. "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the single most influential philanthropic organization in the world."
10. Great facts. "Today, private philanthropy to the developing world surpasses the monetary contributions of all governments combined."
11. Multirational multinationals, "Partnering with Kamen to expand access to clean water supports Coca-Cola's already far-reaching clean-water initiatives."
12. Well-defined useful terms. "Innovators that mix profit making and social missions fall into two broad categories. First are those whose societal mission is front and center, but for which the market is their instrument of change. These innovators are known as social enterprises."
13. The underrated purchasing power of the marginalized. "One previously marginalized population capturing significant interest is the world's 4 billion people at the `base of the pyramid.' This group collectively represents $5 trillion in purchasing power."
14. The power of "crowdsourcing".
15. Great examples throughout the book, "The Recyclebank model instead sidesteps punitive measures altogether in favor of an incentive-based solution. It was a classic case of carrot versus stick--except that Recyclebank bet on the carrot."
16. Great examples of business models that surpass current public service approaches. "Two Haitian social entrepreneurs, Jean-Ronel Noel and Alex Georges, for example, learned integrated circuit engineering from MIT's OpenCourseWare and subsequently used the knowledge to erect more than five hundred solar street lamps in Haiti's poorest communities."
17. How the solution economy is being reshaped by a new definition of currencies.
18. New platforms that match capital to societal needs. "After returning to Australia, Goldbloom taught himself to write code and launched Kaggle, kick-starting a global exchange of algorithms. Kaggle organizes competitions according to specific data problems, with the most accurate predictive model winning."
19. A great example on affordable housing.
20. A guide on how to change the world.
21. Links and great supporting material.
Negatives:
1. The book is so focused on providing positive information that it misses an opportunity to address a lot of the problems or special challenges (there is one example dealing with the special challenges facing entrepreneurs but they are few and far between).
2. No formal bibliography.
In summary, I really enjoyed this book. It provides valuable information on how collaboration between government, business and philanthropists lead to solving society's toughest problems. It's engaging, well written and illustrates clearly the value these movements have to the better public. I can provide unlimited praise, I highly recommend it!
Further recommendations: "Platform: Get Noticed ina Noisy World" by Michael Hyatt, "Collaborate or Perish!: Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World" by William Bratton and Zachary Tumin, "Outliers: The Story of Success" and "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell, "Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future" by Leonard A. Schlesinger, "The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following" by Kevin Allen, "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller, "Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard" by Chip and Dan Heath, "Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business" by Thor Muller and Lane Becker "inGenius" by Tina Seelig, "Work with Me" by Barbara Annis and John Gray, "Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't" by Jeffrey Pfeffer, "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg, "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success" by Rick Newman, and "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink.
May 13, 2014
I found this presentation quite compelling. The authors do an admirable job of defining and demonstrating the concepts and practices of The Solution Revolution. Most discussions of paradigm shifts uniquely challenge readers, so this discussion does require a focus that many readers might find problematic. To those readers I simply say, slow down and give some thought to what you read.
Beyond compelling, I also found this work provocative. The many apt examples of "wavemakers" leveraging new and evolving digital technologies in innovatively addressing a myriad of social challenges feeds a whole new sense of possibility. As an aspiring social entrepreneur, I derived much inspiration and encouragement from the book. I anticipate repeatedly returning to this material in the future.
Beyond compelling, I also found this work provocative. The many apt examples of "wavemakers" leveraging new and evolving digital technologies in innovatively addressing a myriad of social challenges feeds a whole new sense of possibility. As an aspiring social entrepreneur, I derived much inspiration and encouragement from the book. I anticipate repeatedly returning to this material in the future.
October 21, 2013
It scantily summarizes concepts better covered in other books and didn't go into any further depth on any issue.
October 9, 2013
*A full executive summary of this book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/10/08...
The main argument: Prior to the 19th century, public goods and social goals such as sanitation, health, affordable housing, education, and environmental protection were largely left up to individuals to sort out for themselves. Beginning in the 19th century, though, more and more governments—particularly in the industrialized, democratized world—began taking these responsibilities on themselves. In the latter half of the 20th century, the promotion of public goods and social goals expanded as governments in the developed world intensified their efforts at home and began spreading their attention to the developing parts of the planet, and large non-profits and NGOs started cropping up to help with the issues both domestically and abroad.
Recently, we have seen a new trend develop, as in the past two decades businesses and corporations have themselves increasingly entered the fray. Now, this may seem odd, given that business is often seen as indifferent—if not downright hostile—to public goods and social goals. However, several developments have occurred in recent years that have flipped this logic on its head.
To begin with, many consumers have begun to demand that companies display real concern and commitment towards the issues that mean something to them—and have begun to shun companies that fail to show a sense of social responsibility. This trend has caused businesses to respond in several ways. First off, most companies now assess the social and environmental impact of their business practices, and have taken measures to ameliorate them under a Corporate Social Responsibility report (CSR). Even more impressively, corporate philanthropy has skyrocketed in recent years; and, what’s more, companies are increasingly moving beyond donating, and are instead using their peculiar expertise to help directly with social projects and development efforts.
Business involvement with public goods and social goals goes well beyond just brand-building, though. Indeed, it turns out that big profits are also at stake. To begin with, many companies have come to realize that there is a fortune to be made by entering non-traditional markets and catering to the unmet needs of the world’s poorest people—and in helping them bootstrap themselves out of poverty. For though the so-called ‘bottom of the pyramid’ may not have much, they do have some, and collectively they represent an enormous business opportunity. Indeed, the bottom of the pyramid has been estimated to represent a $5 trillion market.
Still other businesses in the social economy are organizing themselves from the beginning around a particular public problem (such as traffic congestion or waste control), and then cleverly designing a business model that helps solve the problem—all while turning a profit.
Aside from these self-starting enterprises, other companies have been lured into the social economy by governments or non-profits who are looking to exploit their expertise—or who are looking to capture the benefits of competitive organizations more broadly (specifically increased innovation and efficiency)—and who are willing to pay top dollar to do so.
These types of collaborations (between governments, non-profits and businesses [and other types of groups]) have actually become quite a theme in addressing public goods and social goals—and author William D. Eggers makes a special point of addressing it in his book. The beauty of the arrangement comes from the fact that each type of organization has access to a special class of information, expertise, and resources, which, when brought together, can help yield solutions that are particularly effective.
As you might expect, many of the developments spoken of here have been made possible by recent innovations—everything from social networking, to crowd-funding, to crowd-sourcing, to micro-financing, to prize and pay-for-success exchanges, to socially-responsible and impact investing etc.—and the author is sure to touch on all these as well.
On the bright side, it is certainly nice to see a book-length discussion about a very timely and important topic. On the not-so-bright-side, the reading experience of the book leaves much to be desired. The biggest issue here is with the examples. Many of the examples are touched on only briefly, and in passing—some of them receiving but a single sentence in a paragraph. It would have been much better to see fewer examples explored in greater detail. Still, there is much to be learned here, and the book is a valuable read. A full executive summary of the book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/10/08... A podcast discussion of the book will be available soon.
The main argument: Prior to the 19th century, public goods and social goals such as sanitation, health, affordable housing, education, and environmental protection were largely left up to individuals to sort out for themselves. Beginning in the 19th century, though, more and more governments—particularly in the industrialized, democratized world—began taking these responsibilities on themselves. In the latter half of the 20th century, the promotion of public goods and social goals expanded as governments in the developed world intensified their efforts at home and began spreading their attention to the developing parts of the planet, and large non-profits and NGOs started cropping up to help with the issues both domestically and abroad.
Recently, we have seen a new trend develop, as in the past two decades businesses and corporations have themselves increasingly entered the fray. Now, this may seem odd, given that business is often seen as indifferent—if not downright hostile—to public goods and social goals. However, several developments have occurred in recent years that have flipped this logic on its head.
To begin with, many consumers have begun to demand that companies display real concern and commitment towards the issues that mean something to them—and have begun to shun companies that fail to show a sense of social responsibility. This trend has caused businesses to respond in several ways. First off, most companies now assess the social and environmental impact of their business practices, and have taken measures to ameliorate them under a Corporate Social Responsibility report (CSR). Even more impressively, corporate philanthropy has skyrocketed in recent years; and, what’s more, companies are increasingly moving beyond donating, and are instead using their peculiar expertise to help directly with social projects and development efforts.
Business involvement with public goods and social goals goes well beyond just brand-building, though. Indeed, it turns out that big profits are also at stake. To begin with, many companies have come to realize that there is a fortune to be made by entering non-traditional markets and catering to the unmet needs of the world’s poorest people—and in helping them bootstrap themselves out of poverty. For though the so-called ‘bottom of the pyramid’ may not have much, they do have some, and collectively they represent an enormous business opportunity. Indeed, the bottom of the pyramid has been estimated to represent a $5 trillion market.
Still other businesses in the social economy are organizing themselves from the beginning around a particular public problem (such as traffic congestion or waste control), and then cleverly designing a business model that helps solve the problem—all while turning a profit.
Aside from these self-starting enterprises, other companies have been lured into the social economy by governments or non-profits who are looking to exploit their expertise—or who are looking to capture the benefits of competitive organizations more broadly (specifically increased innovation and efficiency)—and who are willing to pay top dollar to do so.
These types of collaborations (between governments, non-profits and businesses [and other types of groups]) have actually become quite a theme in addressing public goods and social goals—and author William D. Eggers makes a special point of addressing it in his book. The beauty of the arrangement comes from the fact that each type of organization has access to a special class of information, expertise, and resources, which, when brought together, can help yield solutions that are particularly effective.
As you might expect, many of the developments spoken of here have been made possible by recent innovations—everything from social networking, to crowd-funding, to crowd-sourcing, to micro-financing, to prize and pay-for-success exchanges, to socially-responsible and impact investing etc.—and the author is sure to touch on all these as well.
On the bright side, it is certainly nice to see a book-length discussion about a very timely and important topic. On the not-so-bright-side, the reading experience of the book leaves much to be desired. The biggest issue here is with the examples. Many of the examples are touched on only briefly, and in passing—some of them receiving but a single sentence in a paragraph. It would have been much better to see fewer examples explored in greater detail. Still, there is much to be learned here, and the book is a valuable read. A full executive summary of the book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/10/08... A podcast discussion of the book will be available soon.
Read
January 2, 2014I picked this up on the recommendation of a friend who thought it was one of the best books she had read all year. I was disappointed enough that I only read 20% of it.
The ideas were great and thought-provoking. The execution of the discussion of the ideas was BAD. The authors breezily toss out name after name and project after project enough detail to give the reader a good sense of it or what makes it successful. They also mix discussions of what I would consider charitable initiatives with social enterprise projects so freely it is hard to keep track of what is going on in any individual case. In addition, they do not explicitly define new terms, like impact currency. the contexts are not adequate, at least not for me. They even acknowledge this (page 38) when they say definitions of the term "social enterprise" vary. So how are THEY going to use the term? They do not say. And they mention type B corporations twice in the 20% I read. It sounds like it might be an intriguing concept, but they do not define it specifically either (If they are going to tell us in a later chapter, they could at least say so.)
So my conclusion is that while these ideas may be worth pursuing, this book is not.
I will withhold a rating to give the authors the benefit of the doubt that the book might improve if I continued, but I doubt it.
The ideas were great and thought-provoking. The execution of the discussion of the ideas was BAD. The authors breezily toss out name after name and project after project enough detail to give the reader a good sense of it or what makes it successful. They also mix discussions of what I would consider charitable initiatives with social enterprise projects so freely it is hard to keep track of what is going on in any individual case. In addition, they do not explicitly define new terms, like impact currency. the contexts are not adequate, at least not for me. They even acknowledge this (page 38) when they say definitions of the term "social enterprise" vary. So how are THEY going to use the term? They do not say. And they mention type B corporations twice in the 20% I read. It sounds like it might be an intriguing concept, but they do not define it specifically either (If they are going to tell us in a later chapter, they could at least say so.)
So my conclusion is that while these ideas may be worth pursuing, this book is not.
I will withhold a rating to give the authors the benefit of the doubt that the book might improve if I continued, but I doubt it.
October 9, 2013
A vwery good book that explains how private companies, governments, innovators and investors are uniting in many parts of the world to create solutions to difficult problems for the world. The book shows how they use new disruptive technologies, new business models, new impact currencies and new ecosystems to change thw world for the better.
The book gives examples and also guides you with a framework to have the same impact in your community or country.
The book gives examples and also guides you with a framework to have the same impact in your community or country.
March 21, 2014
I highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in social and economic development leveraging mass action and broad collaboration. The examples are very thorough and valuable. It is one of the few books in social and economic change that covers the whole landscape of developed and developing economies.
March 3, 2016
A great summary of how innovative collaboration aided by technology is improving the world, but really about 10 pages of content spread across 200 pages of examples.
January 25, 2023
Milton Freedman is dead
Your shoe is untied. Yes, this book tells you what you already know but have not put into words yet. The Solution Revolution by Willian D, Eggers is another way to look at today’s economics.
Remember Alvin Toffler’s “The Third wave”? most have come true but he did not have today's terms as “Gig Economy”. Now We have the term “Solution Revolution”. The title of the book tells the story of what you are about to read “Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest Problems.”
You will want to read the book from cover to cover and get a new view of how the world works and not so much speculation on what it could be.
Of course, as with many other works, it is a tad date and misses a few marks. This should not deter you from reading and seeing what is seen from a 2013 view.
Your shoe is untied. Yes, this book tells you what you already know but have not put into words yet. The Solution Revolution by Willian D, Eggers is another way to look at today’s economics.
Remember Alvin Toffler’s “The Third wave”? most have come true but he did not have today's terms as “Gig Economy”. Now We have the term “Solution Revolution”. The title of the book tells the story of what you are about to read “Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest Problems.”
You will want to read the book from cover to cover and get a new view of how the world works and not so much speculation on what it could be.
Of course, as with many other works, it is a tad date and misses a few marks. This should not deter you from reading and seeing what is seen from a 2013 view.
April 9, 2021
Underwhelming. I mean, it made the point that different types of businesses plus government can fix problems, and it just felt very capitalism heavy, and there were a number of examples where I was like... okay if thats the solution why hasn't it been implemented on a broader scale??? like if you can make a house for 300 dollars why has this not been implemented?? maybe I'm just not patient enough but that's how I felt about most of the examples. Interesting book that really focuses on the value of social enterprises, but not a wonderful read imo
June 2, 2017
I thought it was a good book that addressed various was the economy can bring change via the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. They gave a lot of practical examples and very few amounts of straight forward awnsers.
February 7, 2018
Collaboration is key to transforming the health of populations. Population health is a tough problem that requires multi-sector collaboration to succeed.
February 19, 2018
Thought-provoking - a great read when you're on a quest for new ideas
February 2, 2014
Conscious capitalism and capitalism's future in global economy
The 2011 Wall Street protesters shook our conscience regarding the traditional way of thinking about wealth-sharing. Why the top one percent is controlling the global economy when the 99 percent majority continues to be poorer. Why don't we bring some kind of consciousness into our capitalism that helps solve societal problems besides making profits and higher returns for the stockholders? This book addresses that question in a socially responsible way. The authors suggest that we can create a trillion-dollar market by unlocking the value of underutilized global resources in a way that was never possible before. In a world where the global population is nine billion, governments alone cannot sustain the overwhelming problems, but citizens need to team up with business, social enterprises, philanthropists, non-profit organizations such as universities, research institutions and hospitals with the government participation to tackle the society's problems. This will break the traditional boundaries that exist between the public and private sectors and the society. This is a shift from the government dominated model to one in which government is just one player. In 2009 alone, American philanthropists exceeded the United States government aid by $9 billion; 184 corporations, at an average of $22 million each, contributed to global philanthropy; the total exceeding $15 billion. Institutional investors funded groups that create public value, thus increasing socially responsible investing to $1 trillion. This demonstrates that it is possible to for the public, private and citizens to collaborate and compete to solve mega-problems. Instead of patching market failures, we can create a market for solutions. The underlying economic concepts are the same; the supply and demand; goods and services; trade and distribution; capital markets and government regulation. What is new is that the participants and how they interact. The authors suggest six features in their plan; the wave-makers who can solve societal problems; innovative technologies - fast and furious; business models that can scale up; currencies, public value exchanges and ecologically responsible approach are central to the solution. Gradually the political, legal and economic infrastructure will realign with new developments. The final results can be measured in terms of lives saved by improved and immediately available healthcare, mass education and lowering the gap between wealthy and poor. The book is innovative and revolutionary. If this idea works, I think humanity has future and everyone is able to rejoice at the new found meaning for global economic equality.
The 2011 Wall Street protesters shook our conscience regarding the traditional way of thinking about wealth-sharing. Why the top one percent is controlling the global economy when the 99 percent majority continues to be poorer. Why don't we bring some kind of consciousness into our capitalism that helps solve societal problems besides making profits and higher returns for the stockholders? This book addresses that question in a socially responsible way. The authors suggest that we can create a trillion-dollar market by unlocking the value of underutilized global resources in a way that was never possible before. In a world where the global population is nine billion, governments alone cannot sustain the overwhelming problems, but citizens need to team up with business, social enterprises, philanthropists, non-profit organizations such as universities, research institutions and hospitals with the government participation to tackle the society's problems. This will break the traditional boundaries that exist between the public and private sectors and the society. This is a shift from the government dominated model to one in which government is just one player. In 2009 alone, American philanthropists exceeded the United States government aid by $9 billion; 184 corporations, at an average of $22 million each, contributed to global philanthropy; the total exceeding $15 billion. Institutional investors funded groups that create public value, thus increasing socially responsible investing to $1 trillion. This demonstrates that it is possible to for the public, private and citizens to collaborate and compete to solve mega-problems. Instead of patching market failures, we can create a market for solutions. The underlying economic concepts are the same; the supply and demand; goods and services; trade and distribution; capital markets and government regulation. What is new is that the participants and how they interact. The authors suggest six features in their plan; the wave-makers who can solve societal problems; innovative technologies - fast and furious; business models that can scale up; currencies, public value exchanges and ecologically responsible approach are central to the solution. Gradually the political, legal and economic infrastructure will realign with new developments. The final results can be measured in terms of lives saved by improved and immediately available healthcare, mass education and lowering the gap between wealthy and poor. The book is innovative and revolutionary. If this idea works, I think humanity has future and everyone is able to rejoice at the new found meaning for global economic equality.
November 15, 2013
Just as a disclaimer, I worked with Bill Eggers and really respect his work. All in all the item I loved most about this work was the great stories he introduced about companies all over the world who are either organized around the principles of giving back to society (i.e Tom's Shoes), or companies who are using profits to help fund solutions throughout the world.
Yet, I did find that this book felt a bit self-congratulatory. Almost as if the authors were trying to write a book validating that by working within a corporation, they had not lost their souls to the ever powerful bottom line. That those working for these organizations were, in fact doing some good at a scale that sometimes NGOs cannot accomplish. Which is, well, true.
My issue with this is not that it isn't worth telling these stories, but all of the organizations that the books discusses, why aren't they non-profits? Why, for example, are some of these companies who provide great good to the world organized around the principle of making profits? Is there something inherent in corporate organizations that pushes the drive for novel innovations? Or is it just smart business people taking advantage of the "Bottom of the Pyramid" or the triple bottom line approach? Somehow, my gut tells me that it is really not out of the goodness of their hearts that organizations are offering wonderful solutions, but really out of a pursuit to maximize profits in a novel way.
Still a very good book to read. The flow is a bit choppy at times (I get the sense the authors were so excited it was like a little puppy playing in the yard, "oh look! Over here there is this one cool company! And wow! Over here is another one! Boy-oh-boy-oh-boy lookee here is another one!). So if you like a smoother narrative I would just urge caution.
Also a good book for those quite skeptical of the private sector. It will not allay all of your fears, but there really are some amazing things going on out there and I give the authors a pat on the back for all the research necessary to track down these stories and publish them for the general public.
Yet, I did find that this book felt a bit self-congratulatory. Almost as if the authors were trying to write a book validating that by working within a corporation, they had not lost their souls to the ever powerful bottom line. That those working for these organizations were, in fact doing some good at a scale that sometimes NGOs cannot accomplish. Which is, well, true.
My issue with this is not that it isn't worth telling these stories, but all of the organizations that the books discusses, why aren't they non-profits? Why, for example, are some of these companies who provide great good to the world organized around the principle of making profits? Is there something inherent in corporate organizations that pushes the drive for novel innovations? Or is it just smart business people taking advantage of the "Bottom of the Pyramid" or the triple bottom line approach? Somehow, my gut tells me that it is really not out of the goodness of their hearts that organizations are offering wonderful solutions, but really out of a pursuit to maximize profits in a novel way.
Still a very good book to read. The flow is a bit choppy at times (I get the sense the authors were so excited it was like a little puppy playing in the yard, "oh look! Over here there is this one cool company! And wow! Over here is another one! Boy-oh-boy-oh-boy lookee here is another one!). So if you like a smoother narrative I would just urge caution.
Also a good book for those quite skeptical of the private sector. It will not allay all of your fears, but there really are some amazing things going on out there and I give the authors a pat on the back for all the research necessary to track down these stories and publish them for the general public.
November 9, 2013
Government, by itself, can no longer fix all of society's problems. Perhaps it is time for a partnership between government, business and new organizations that that are shrinking the gap between what citizens need and what government can provide.
Does your town have a rather dismal home recycling rate? Instead of spending tax money on a recycling PR campaign, visit a site called Recyclebank. They have helped towns to double or triple their recycling rate in just a few months. Is downtown clogged with traffic? Instead of imposing some sort of downtown driving fee, consider a car-sharing service like ZipCar.
It is now possible to mobilize huge amounts of resources around societal problems, while the costs plummet. In this new solution economy, the exchange and creation of value (currencies) are happening in new ways. The new currency could be data, credits, reputation or social outcomes (like reduced sickness). There are also new ways to trade these new currencies. They range from prizes and challenges, to crowdfunding platforms, to two-sided markets (with no middleman), to arrangements that pay for success. Can the same system work for international issues, like human trafficking or providing inexpensive housing for India's poor?
How can government or business help to bring about a solution economy? Government can use their purchasing power to create demand, be open to other avenues to reach a desired outcome, open up public data, avoid over-regulating the solution economy and recognize social enterprises as a new kind of business. Business can help by looking at their operating procedures against social criteria, make a bold commitment, change their sourcing practices, and find a way to leverage that open data.
This is a really interesting book. Perhaps it will inspire others to find social needs that are not yet being met, and do something about it. The only bad part of this book is the lack of a list in the back of the websites mentioned in the book (there are quite a number of them). Aside from that, this book is very much worth reading, for businesses and individuals.
Does your town have a rather dismal home recycling rate? Instead of spending tax money on a recycling PR campaign, visit a site called Recyclebank. They have helped towns to double or triple their recycling rate in just a few months. Is downtown clogged with traffic? Instead of imposing some sort of downtown driving fee, consider a car-sharing service like ZipCar.
It is now possible to mobilize huge amounts of resources around societal problems, while the costs plummet. In this new solution economy, the exchange and creation of value (currencies) are happening in new ways. The new currency could be data, credits, reputation or social outcomes (like reduced sickness). There are also new ways to trade these new currencies. They range from prizes and challenges, to crowdfunding platforms, to two-sided markets (with no middleman), to arrangements that pay for success. Can the same system work for international issues, like human trafficking or providing inexpensive housing for India's poor?
How can government or business help to bring about a solution economy? Government can use their purchasing power to create demand, be open to other avenues to reach a desired outcome, open up public data, avoid over-regulating the solution economy and recognize social enterprises as a new kind of business. Business can help by looking at their operating procedures against social criteria, make a bold commitment, change their sourcing practices, and find a way to leverage that open data.
This is a really interesting book. Perhaps it will inspire others to find social needs that are not yet being met, and do something about it. The only bad part of this book is the lack of a list in the back of the websites mentioned in the book (there are quite a number of them). Aside from that, this book is very much worth reading, for businesses and individuals.
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June 19, 2014As a political science student, I spend a fair amount of my time being hammered with a myriad of the world’s problems. It really is enough to make a person refuse to climb out of bed in the morning. I was therefore intrigued deeply by the premise of the Solution Revolution in that governments, individual citizens, and businesses cannot solve the problems of modern society on their own. Featured in this book are several solutions to common problems such as poverty, recycling, and human trafficking, among others employed in select communities throughout the globe.
The bottom line is that the problems of the world may not be as intractable as most commentators would have us believe, but what it is going to take is an extraordinary combination of minds, capital, and government weight to fight the problems of modern society. What such efforts ultimately require is an end to the me first thinking that seems to pervade our business, political, and personal culture in this country. We need to stop prioritizing the next million dollars, the next election, or sheer materialism. Otherwise, the solution revolution will end up like so many other revolutions in history.
A wake up call concerning what is possible in this world.
The bottom line is that the problems of the world may not be as intractable as most commentators would have us believe, but what it is going to take is an extraordinary combination of minds, capital, and government weight to fight the problems of modern society. What such efforts ultimately require is an end to the me first thinking that seems to pervade our business, political, and personal culture in this country. We need to stop prioritizing the next million dollars, the next election, or sheer materialism. Otherwise, the solution revolution will end up like so many other revolutions in history.
A wake up call concerning what is possible in this world.
September 17, 2014
I think a line from the book's praise at the beginning about sums it up... "If the writing weren't already on the wall, Eggers and Macmillan have put it there." The reviewer is referring to the fact that governments alone should not, and generally cannot, solve the world's biggest challenges (climate change, poverty, access to healthcare, etc.). Of course, the writing is already on the wall if you've read the news in the last decade.
Still, this book serves a useful function in pulling together many examples, from across a variety of disciplines, to show how business, civil society, government, and investors can work together. As you might expect the details of the successful initiatives highlighted are slim, and often repeated.
The most useful part of the book is the appendix (page 229), where the authors summarize the tools available to government, business, and investors in addressing big challenges from a fresh perspective. The rest of the book is probably skim-worthy.
Still, this book serves a useful function in pulling together many examples, from across a variety of disciplines, to show how business, civil society, government, and investors can work together. As you might expect the details of the successful initiatives highlighted are slim, and often repeated.
The most useful part of the book is the appendix (page 229), where the authors summarize the tools available to government, business, and investors in addressing big challenges from a fresh perspective. The rest of the book is probably skim-worthy.
December 18, 2014
The Solution Revolution is a good read for those looking to get an introductory look into private-sector development for social good. Eggers and Macmillian make the case that businesses need to work with governments to help address problems in healthcare, education, poverty, and beyond. Yes, this book does a good job citing examples of startups that have had some success both domestic and abroad. However, this book is targeted at those who do not work in this field, for it fails to highlight the problem of achieving scale for a majority of these enterprises. The overall theme of the book is great, however a more critical analysis of failures and difficulties of scaling, particularly in international development, is desired.
October 30, 2013
The take of this book on some of our societal problems is very interesting. Some of the challenges posed in the book are often overlooked by the general public and I feel like people need to be aware of the fact we can make a change without relying on the big corporations and government.
Even though the subject matter is interesting, I found it a bit hard to read through the book. I was hoping it would be more accessible to people less knowledgeable on the subject and perhaps written in a more friendly way.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Even though the subject matter is interesting, I found it a bit hard to read through the book. I was hoping it would be more accessible to people less knowledgeable on the subject and perhaps written in a more friendly way.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
May 24, 2014
A comprehensive review of the major trends and opportunities in social impact today. I liked how the authors focused the last section specifically on ways that different actors can contribute to building effective solutions. The book itself was well-written, optimistic without being overly evangelical and well-structured.
July 29, 2014
An optimistic book on the expansion of social enterprising people into areas previously the sole domain of governments and NGO's in order to network with millions to find local and regional solutions to social problems. In doing so the environment is created to dodge government domination and build up self-help, self-reliance and self-action.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
January 5, 2015
Great book with a lot of ideas and inspiration. Most of the ideas shared in the book are things that have already been done, or may need additional brainstorming/tweaking.. But ultimately, there is essentially an unlimited areas of focus that which needs our attention.. Choose one!
October 17, 2015
Interesting discussion of how businesses, government and social enterprises are collaborating to tackle social problems. Part of the interesting evolution of social entrepreneurship and impact investing with which I'm involved.
February 4, 2016
I can't recommend this. I don't think the authors see their topics ("Disruptive Technologies", "Business Models That Scale", et al) the same way I do. But, just because I found little value in this, someone else might.
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December 19, 2014I don't rate books I read for work!
December 20, 2016
Mentions numerous companies that are part of the growing 'sharing economy'.
February 9, 2014
This reads like the miserable papers I had to write in business school.
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January 18, 2018Excellent book - very important read for socially-conscious organisational cultures and NPO's alike. The nature of corporate social investment is shifting and the book provides valuable lessons and insights that could affect societies, policies and the way in which business is done.
I was seeking information concerning trends in the social upliftment and skills development environment, as well as practical ideas for implementation in bringing a Social Enterprise into being and I learn't so much more!
I was seeking information concerning trends in the social upliftment and skills development environment, as well as practical ideas for implementation in bringing a Social Enterprise into being and I learn't so much more!
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