In 1998 John Wood was a rising executive at Microsoft . Then a trip to Nepal inspired him to set up schools and libraries in the developing world.Fuelled by the same drive that made him a top executive, Wood took his business acumen into the charity sector and created Room to Read, a stunningly effective organisation that has created a network of more than 2,000 schools and libraries throughout Asia and Africa in only six years.Leaving Microsoft to Change the World chronicles John Wood's incredible journey, his first years at Microsoft, his life-changing decision to leave, and the adventure that followed. Wood shares the methods he uses to manage Room to Read, taken from the boardroom of one of the world's most influential companies and applied successfully in a very different setting. His story is an inspirational example of how to create success on your own terms and change your world.After earning an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management, John Wood joined Microsoft in 1991. He quickly ascended to become Microsoft's director of business development in China and the surrounding regions. In 1999, he founded Room to Read, a charity that promotes literacy throughout the developing world. He lives in San Francisco.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Quest to Educate the World’s Children

Wood,John

Science & Math

HarperCollins Business

John Wood discovered his passion, his greatest success, and his life's work—not at business school or leading Microsoft's charge into Asia in the 1990s—but on a soul-searching trip to the Himalayas. Wood felt trapped between an all-consuming career and a desire to do something lasting and significant. Stressed from the demands of his job, he took a vacation trekking in Nepal because a friend had told him, "If you get high enough in the mountains, you can't hear Steve Ballmer yelling at you anymore."
Instead of being the antidote to the rat race, that trip convinced John Wood to divert the boundless energy he was devoting to Microsoft into a cause that desperately needed to be addressed. While visiting a remote Nepalese school, Wood learned that the students had few books in their library. When he offered to run a book drive to provide the school with books, his idea was met with polite skepticism. After all, no matter how well-intentioned, why would a successful software executive take valuable time out of his life and gather books for an impoverished school?
But John Wood did return to that school and with thousands of books bundled on the back of a yak. And at that moment, Wood made the decision to walk away from Microsoft and create Room to Read—an organization that has donated more than 1.2 million books, established more than 2,600 libraries and 200 schools, and sent 1,700 girls to school on scholarship—ultimately touching the lives of 875,000 children with the lifelong gift of education.
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World chronicles John Wood's struggle to find a meaningful outlet for his managerial talents and entrepreneurial zeal. For every high-achiever who has ever wondered what life might be like giving back, Wood offers a vivid, emotional, and absorbing tale of how to take the lessons learned at a hard-charging company like Microsoft and apply them to one of the world's most pressing problems: the lack of basic literacy.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

Harper Business

John Wood discovered his passion, his greatest success, and his life's work not at business school or helping lead Microsoft's charge into Asia in the 1990s but on a soul-searching trip to the Himalayas. He made the difficult decision to walk away from his lucrative career to create Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that promotes education across the developing world. By the end of 2007, the organization will have established over 5,000 libraries and 400 schools, and awarded long-term scholarships to more than 3,000 girls, giving more than one million children the lifelong gift of education. If you have ever pondered abandoning your desk job for an adventure and an opportunity to give back, Wood's story will inspire you. He offers a vivid, emotional, and absorbing tale of how to take the lessons learned at a hard-charging company like Microsoft and apply them to the world's most pressing social problems.

Economics

Harper Paperbacks

Taking Sides volumes present current controversial issues in a debate-style format designed to stimulate student interest and develop critical thinking skills. Each issue is thoughtfully framed with an issue summary, an issue introduction, and a postscript or challenge questions. Taking Sides readers feature an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites. An online Instructor’s Resource Guide with testing material is available for each volume. Using Taking Sides in the Classroom is also an excellent instructor resource. Visit www.mhhe.com/takingsides for more details.

Taking Sides: Clashing Views in State and Local Government

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

McGraw–Hill Education

If you've ever felt lonely and didn't know why... if being afraid has kept you from doing what you want... if you've ever felt guilty and didn't understand why... this book was written for you.Most people are governed by their feelings more than they want to admit or understand. Schools, the media, the way we relate to each other, all do little to help us understand or express our emotions.HOW DO YOU FEEL? can help change that. It will give you personal insights into how people who have spent a great deal of time exploring emotions--their own and others'--have learned to lead fuller, richer lives.HOW DO YOU FEEL? could be an important beginning for you, or another step along the road to understanding the parts of you that are most truly human.

How do you feel?: A guide to your emotions (A Spectrum book)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

PRENTICE HALL OPEN CENTER

What are you afraid of?: A guide to dealing with your fears (A Spectrum book ; S-382)

PRENTICE/HALL

pub by Prentice Hall 1976,hardcover, binding tight,first pages have underlining-balance clean,jacket worn(.s6)

The inspirational story of a former Microsoft executive’s quest to build libraries around the world and share the love of books What’s happened since John Wood left Microsoft to change the world? Just ask six million kids in the poorest regions of Asia and Africa. In 1999, at the age of thirty-five, Wood quit a lucrative career to found the nonprofit Room to Read. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “the Andrew Carnegie of the developing world,” he strived to bring the lessons of the corporate world to the nonprofit sector—and succeeded spectacularly. In his acclaimed first book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, Wood explained his vision and the story of his start-up. Now, he tackles the organization’s next steps and its latest challenges—from managing expansion to raising money in a collapsing economy to publishing books for children who literally have no books in their native language. At its heart, Creating Room to Read shares moving stories of the people Room to Read works to help: impoverished children whose schools and villages have been swept away by war or natural disaster and girls whose educations would otherwise be ignored. People at the highest levels of finance, government, and philanthropy will embrace the opportunity to learn Wood’s inspiring business model and blueprint for doing good. And general readers will love Creating Room to Read for its spellbinding story of one man’s mission to put books within every child’s reach.

Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

Plume

The long awaited autobiography of one of Australia's best loved actors. 'Your job is to go out there, grab the audience by the balls, and drag them up on stage with you!' I was flabbergasted. This I understood. A language that I spoke - had spoken most of my life. It was the best acting note I ever got. John Wood grew up in working-class Melbourne; when he failed out of high school, an employment officer told him, 'You have the mind of an artist and the body of a labourer.' And so John continued to pursue his acting dreams in amateur theatre, sustaining himself by working jobs as a bricklayer, a railway clerk and even in the same abattoir as his father. When he won a scholarship to NIDA, in Sydney, it moved John into a new and at times baffling world, full of extraordinary characters. It was the start of a decades-long acting career, most famously on shows such as Rafferty's Rules and Blue Heelers, where his charm made him beloved in households across the country. His popularity was such that he was nominated for a Gold Logie nine times in a row, finally culminating in a win in 2006. How I Clawed My Way to the Middle is a beguiling memoir from one of Australia's most cherished actors on both stage and screen. Full of humility, warmth and humour, it tells of the ephemeral nature of theatre, the luminous personalities John encountered along the way, and the perilous reality of life as a professional actor in Australia.

How I Clawed my Way to the Middle

Biographies & Memoirs

Memoirs

Viking Australia

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wood,John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wood,John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wood,John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Quest to Educate the World’s Children

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

Taking Sides: Clashing Views in State and Local Government

How do you feel?: A guide to your emotions (A Spectrum book)

What are you afraid of?: A guide to dealing with your fears (A Spectrum book ; S-382)

What are you afraid of?: A guide to dealing with your fears (A Spectrum book ; S-382)

Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy

How I Clawed my Way to the Middle