Summary Of Leaving Microsoft To Change The World By John Wood

In the book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John wood talks about education, materialism, and charity. The author presents going to school and having access to book as a basic human right, which is a luxury to some people due to poverty. The book also outlines the steps that one can use to make a vision a reality. Wood argues that education provides a better means of escaping poverty and to a better life.
Regarding materialism, Wood realizes that even after having everything he needed, he had to give up his career to follow his dreams, which he found more spiritually fulfilling. The book also talks about charity as the author narrates how people give money to those in need, especially in times, such as the September 11th attack. The
author explains that it is fulfilling and worthwhile to donate resources to help others.
This story provides a challenge to everyone to find a worthy cause to help fellow humankind. The book is well-written giving enough examples of times when Wood felt let down and also where he attained career highs that have made him what he is today. The story also presents savvy insights that can be useful to businesses.
Analysis
The vision for Room to Read includes using books to help impoverished children all over the world to get education.
It also seeks to inspire those kids whose villages and schools have been affected by natural disasters and was as well as those girls whose education would have been ignored due to cultural practices and beliefs.
The vision is developed when Wood is on an 18-day trek in Nepal where he finds a big school with no books and the headmaster asks him to come back with books if he would. A year later, Wood returns with the books, but after seeing the glimmer of hope in the children’s faces he decided to quit Microsoft to start thousands of libraries.
Passion plays an integral role in developing this vision as he sought to quit his career to help others reach where he is. Wood seemed to focus around improvement and consistency. This vision was communicated using words and pictures to help people connect their hearts with those who needed help.
The story of Room to Read demonstrates leadership in the way Wood develops and executes a vision for a scalable solution to educational problems. He shows leadership in the way he presents details in his work, which shows he is an influential leader. Leadership is also shown in the way he communicates in a simple, personal, and realistic
manner.
Wood influences others to consider following their passion to make the world a better place for others. He demonstrates that by using education and books, which most people take for granted, and thus dedicates his entire life to see that it succeeds. Wood also influences others by showing them the power of thinking about the bigger picture versus focus on outcomes.
The leadership model that demonstrates Wood’s style is the transformational and service leadership.
Wood shows the characteristics of a visionary global transformation leader as he creates a global network of influential visionaries to influence global education policy. He is charismatic, strategic, and organizational due to his devotion to Room to Read. He takes his time to serve the less fortunate, which displays him as a service leader.
Application
The book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, provides a model for creating change whereby one should start by finding their passion and having people around who share that passion and values. Wood is perplexed that there are thousands of people lining up to take up his job but there is none thinking about helping the children in poverty-stricken areas. The move to live a dream should also involve listening to other people and getting feedback.
After that, one has to start a small organization with established mission and values. The next step would be to scale such an organization as Wood explains that Room to Read is a case study on scale. Such would be followed by community organizing and fundraising through a wide range of donor base. One then has to set audacious goals with numbers being attached to these goals. However, one should not forget passion and persistence as well as sharing one’s narrative to allow people room to
relate.
Reflection
The message relayed in the book regarding the power to change the world in that one can harness their passion and dreams to make a reality for other people. For example, Wood uses the power of education to make the world better for impoverished children in different parts of the world. Therefore, bold goals start with bold people. If an individual wants to change the world then they will have to set bold goals and hire passionate people who are action-oriented and innovative problem solvers to ensure that the dream is realized. As such, the key is taking that first step to action without procrastinating.