A Social Entrepreneur's 2020 Reading List

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

As the year wraps up, news outlets around the globe are pulling together lists of the top nonfiction and fiction books from the year. Our list is a bit different — top books for social entrepreneurs. Released in 2020, these are titles that are perfect for anyone on your holiday shopping list.

Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism
By John Elkington
John Elkington’s Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism, his 20th book, is a manifesto for system change designed to serve people, planet, and prosperity. Using case studies and other real-world examples, Elkington shows how the weirdest “Ugly Ducklings” of today’s world may turn into tomorrow’s world-saving Green Swans, solutions that take us exponentially toward a breakthrough (unlike Black Swans, which take us exponentially toward a breakdown). Considered a must-read for business leaders in corporations big and small who want to help their businesses survive the coming shift in global priorities over the next decade and expand their horizons from responsibility through resilience, and onto regeneration.

Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change
By Sir Ronald Cohen
Sir Ronald Cohen is a pioneering philanthropist, venture capitalist, private equity investor, and social innovator, who is driving forward the global Impact Revolution. In Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change, Cohen shows how we must imagine a new world which shrinks inequality, regenerates natural resources, and allows people to share from all prosperity.

Leading Sustainably: The Path to Sustainable Business and How the SDG’s Changed Everything
By Trista Bridges
Leading Sustainably: The Path to Sustainable Business and How the SDG’s Changed Everything echoes a thought that the Give To Get leadership team has had for years, but which has become increasingly prevalent during the pandemic: The business world is at a crossroads. Climate change as well as political and societal shifts are increasingly important. Brand stakeholders now believe that business and society must lead sustainably by putting purpose on equal footing with profit.

This book captures the ideas of more than 100 global change makers about how business is putting sustainability at the core of strategy to survive, thrive, and realign its interests with society’s. The book also introduces five vignettes profiling best-in-class companies that were sustainable from the start and international case studies on business sustainability efforts, spanning industries from hospitality to waste management, fashion, finance, and more. This is a must-read for mid-level to senior managers.

Legacy Sport: How to Win at the Business of Sport in the Age of Social Good
By Neill Duffy, Fabien Paget, and Jo Ramsay
The desire for corporations to engage in social good is reaching all areas of society, including sport. Whether you’re operating a sports brand, property, or nonprofit you must choose to embrace the idea that you can do good while doing well in order to be successful in the future. Written for aspiring and active executives, Legacy Sport: How to Win at the Business of Sport in the Age of Social Good helps you navigate the new business world while teaching you how to make a positive difference in the world — socially and/or environmentally.

Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire
By Rebecca Henderson, Ph.D.
Free market capitalism is one of humanity’s greatest inventions and the greatest source of prosperity, but the success has been costly, according to Rebecca Henderson, Ph.D. Now, capitalism is on the verge of destroying the planet and the time for action is running out. Henderson shows how capitalism can be reimagined so that it is not only an engine of prosperity by also a system to deal with climate change, achieve social justice, and more. Learn more about Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire or watch her recent presentation at CECP’s 2020 CEO Investor Forum.

If you’d like to learn more about how Give To Get’s strategy team can assist with putting your purpose in motion, contact us.