Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works

by Roger L. Martin, Sally Osberg, Arianna Huffington

Overview

Who drives transformation in society? How do they do it?

In this compelling book, strategy guru Roger L. Martin and Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally R. Osberg describe how social entrepreneurs target systems that exist in a stable but unjust equilibrium and transform them into entirely new, superior, and sustainable equilibria. All of these leaders--call them disrupters, visionaries, or changemakers--develop, build, and scale their solutions in ways that bring about the truly revolutionary change that makes the world a fairer and better place.

The book begins with a probing and useful theory of social entrepreneurship, moving through history to illuminate what it is, how it works, and the nature of its role in modern society. The authors then set out a framework for understanding how successful social entrepreneuars actually go about producing transformative change. There are four key stages: understanding the world; envisioning a new future; building a model for change; and scaling the solution. With both depth and nuance, Martin and Osberg offer rich examples and personal stories and share lessons and tools invaluable to anyone who aspires to drive positive change, whatever the context.

Getting Beyond Better sets forth a bold new framework, demonstrating how and why meaningful change actually happens in the world and providing concrete lessons and a practical model for businesses, policymakers, civil society organizations, and individuals who seek to transform our world for good.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633690684
Publisher:	Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,121,442
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Roger L. Martin has written many award-winning books, including Playing to Win (with A.G. Lafley), as well as numerous articles in Harvard Business Review and other leading journals and newspapers. He is former dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. He has been on the board of the Skoll Foundation since its formation in 1999.

Sally R. Osberg is President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. Under Sally's leadership, the Foundation has invested in more than one hundred ventures led by social entrepreneurs active on five continents; established the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School of Oxford University; created the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship; and brokered cutting-edge partnerships with organizations such as the Sundance Institute and the Social Progress Imperative.

Editorial Reviews

2016 Axiom Business Book Silver Award in BUSINESS COMMENTARY

"…in a new book, Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works, Skoll Foundation chief executive Sally Osberg and Roger Martin, former dean of the Rotman School of Management, present a model of social enterprise that directly engages government in a number of critical ways. They offer a helpful definition of social entrepreneurs, as distinct from direct social service providers and social advocates." — Anne-Marie Slaughter, Financial Times

"This valuable book helps set the framework for both for future social entrepreneurs and for potential funders and supporters who can help them make the world a fairer and better place." — Developing Leaders

"The authors include many practical and theoretical questions to address. All organizations should grapple with these questions, but they may have special importance for social entrepreneurs." — Choice magazine

"A well-researched and cogent look at the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship, with a useful roadmap for any philanthropically minded individuals or corporations." — The Irish Times

"The two authors bring a wealth of experience and insight to this crucial topic…" — Philanthrocapitalism (philanthrocapitalism.net)

"An insightful, well-structured, and practical-minded analysis of social entrepreneurship that is likely to be of help to established and aspiring social entrepreneurs." — Library Journal

Entrepreneurial Survivor's Guide: 10 Books for your Nightstand — Small Business Trends (smallbiztrends.com)

"They admit that 'true equilibrium change is a higher bar'—but they convincingly argue that it can be met." — BizEd magazine

"… valuable insights and many fascinating stories for those seeking to understand social entrepreneurs or to join their ranks." — The Globe and Mail

"… if you are sitting at your C-suite office wondering whether you want to spend the rest of your life making a genuine difference to the world outside of business, this book could be just what's needed to give you the motivation to do it." — Management Today

"It should be one that is not just read as an explanation and valuation of social entrepreneurship but also as a system check for this field and where it belongs in the overall universe of proposed solutions to tackling the world's most pressing challenges." — Alliance Magazine

"It's a phenomenon so new we don't even know how many there are, let alone how they do what they do. Which is why Roger Martin and Sally Osberg recently published what may be the first book to document the practices of social entrepreneurs, Getting Beyond Better. You couldn't ask for better guides." — Financial Post

"…a riveting and instructive read." — Jack Covert, 800 CEO READ

"… an accessible theory and workable framework for developing, building and scaling solutions that transform unjust systems and drive positive change." — David Slocum, FORBES

Advance Praise for Getting Beyond Better:

Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever—
"The most persuasive account yet of the relationship between our biggest global challenges and the role of social entrepreneurship. Essential reading for anyone who still doubts the power of the social entrepreneur."

Melinda Gates, cochair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—
"Through the stories of status quo–shifting entrepreneurs, including two of my heroes, Paul Farmer and Molly Melching, this powerful book shows what more equitable societies could look like—and what we can all do to make that new normal a reality."

Tim Brown, President and CEO, IDEO; author, Change by Design —
"Social entrepreneurship is a powerful vehicle for positive societal impact, but to exploit it successfully we must first understand what it is and where it has been done well. Getting Beyond Better brilliantly provides the clear definition and case studies that will inspire practitioners, students, funders, and teachers to add their contribution to this important global movement."

Muhammad Yunus, founder, Grameen Bank; father of microcredit and social business; and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize—
"Poverty, worsening income-wealth-opportunity disparity, and climate change are threatening the world. To make the world socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable, we need to bring out the social entrepreneur in all of us. This enlightening yet deeply practical book will help us do that."

Bill Drayton, founder and CEO, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public—
"Roger Martin and Sally Osberg's Getting Beyond Better is the best—the best explanation of how social entrepreneurship regularly upsets crazy but deeply rooted social patterns. And the most clearly written book I’ve read in years."

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, founder and Chair, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society; author, Giving 2.0 —
"Getting Beyond Better shines a spectacular light on social entrepreneurship—what it is and what it requires. Roger Martin and Sally Osberg brilliantly bring together invaluable years of theory, practice, and wisdom to create a must-read for anyone striving to disrupt the status quo for good."

From the Publisher

11/15/2015
Based largely upon their work with the Skoll Foundation, which funds social entrepreneurs, Martin, who is on its board, and Osberg, its president and CEO, propose a rigorous understanding of social entrepreneurship and a model for successful operations. They see social entrepreneurs as drawing from both business enterprises and government bodies to form a third type of entity that can improve society. The authors also view this type of business opportunity as different from social activism (in that the social entrepreneur is directly involved in creating change rather than pressuring government to implement it) and social service provision (in that social entrepreneurs work to establish fundamental change rather than for improvements in the status quo). Following the authors' discussion of definitions, an operating model is proposed. Since those the social entrepreneur aims to help are backed by little monetary support or political influence, the authors think it vital to success that the social entrepreneur's activities either increase the value or decrease the costs implicit in the current unacceptable situation and describe seven ways to effect these revisions. In developing both their definition and model, Martin and Osberg use an inductive method, discussing many real-life examples. VERDICT An insightful, well-structured, and practical-minded analysis of social entrepreneurship that is likely to be of help to established and aspiring social entrepreneurs.—Shmuel Ben-Gad, Gelman Lib., George Washington Univ.

Library Journal