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VOLUME 19
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Hello everyone! Well let's start this month with the Good News/ Bad News message. The Bad News is that we're a bit late with the E-zine this month. Sorry. The Good News is that our excuse (no excuses, sir!) is that we have been pre-occupied in getting The Mark of a Leader book to the printer, and it is being printed as I type this. The book is a collection of stories in four areas: Artists, Activists, Brave Souls, and Visionaries. It contains a few of the gems from the live show which you may know if you have seen it, some expanded versions of past E-zines, and many wonderful new stories. The book will be available at our website: www.themarkofaleader.com by December 18, 2006. We will send out a notice as soon as we know exactly when it will be available, as well as a pre-order form, in the hopes that you may want to give the gift of inspiring stories to someone this Christmas season. I want to say a special thanks this month to the wonderful people at the Encore Cruises conference which we did just last week. You were a blast, and I am thrilled that the messages resonated so powerfully. I am sure the impact will be seen in your sales this year! On the subject of books, let's move on to this month's E-zine. I was thrilled to meet John Wood at a conference recently and was blown away with the power of his vision, his wonderful storytelling, and the impact he is making in the world. I have immense respect for him and his amazing cause, Room To Read, and hope you all feel the same way. Enjoy the story, and maybe think for a moment that in doing so, you have a privilege that many people do not - the simple ability to read. We'll be back at you early next month. Yours in leadership
Please visit our website at www.themarkofaleader.com |
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FEATURE
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QUOTABLE QUOTES Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation. John F. Kennedy |
ROOM TO READ"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe." This amazing story starts with no fanfare. John Wood, a Microsoft marketing executive in Asia, was in desperate need of a holiday. It was 1998, and like most Microsoft executives at the time, he was working 7 days a week helping to drive the world's most 'driven' company. The bad news was that he had virtually no life outside of the office. The good news was that the stock options he had accumulated were worth millions. 
John decided to go hiking for three weeks in the Himalayas. No cellphone, no email, no Ballmer or Gates. Just peace and quiet at the top of the world. While stopping for a break in Nepal, he struck up a conversation with a local education official, and was given a tour of a typical school in one of the many towns along his hiking path. "The middle of nowhere" would make this look cosmopolitan. Other than the tiny space without desks into which 450 students were crammed with only the light from the windows, Wood noticed that there were no books. Upon inquiring, he was shown to the school library - an empty room with a locked cabinet, inside which lay a ratty collection of English-only books left behind by travelers. Let's see, here, we'll start the 4 years olds on Danielle Steel? And then the school's headmaster uttered a line which would change John's life: "Well sir, perhaps you will someday come back with books". John continued his vacation, unable to get the thought of the school and the hopelessness of trying to educate kids without books. Truly, changing the world begins with education. It is through education that we gain the ability to support ourselves, through education that we gain a broader view of the world, and through education that we ensure that the generations that follow us will improve the situation on earth. The upside of education is limitless. The downside may best be seen in the madrasses of Afghanistan, who prey on illiterate young men lacking knowledge of the world outside their village, inject an extremist view of reality, and turn out terrorists. The price of illiteracy and no education is hunger, desperation, and a world at war. |
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QUOTABLE QUOTES The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you. B.B. King |
John sent an email from a cyber-café in Khatmandu to 100 people on his email list asking them if they had any kids books to donate. He expected to maybe get 200 books. He got 3000. From one email. He shipped them to Nepal, rented some yaks to carry them, and set off along the same path he had trekked on vacation, distributing books to ecstatic kids along the way. He fulfilled the schoolmaster's simple request, and indeed returned with books. And that was the end of life as it had been for John Wood. With one small gesture, he had made a real difference in thousands of people's lives, and saw the potential from his simple act of giving to change the world. A year later, with the courage of all great leaders, he quit his lucrative Microsoft job, walking away from the drivers, the luxury apartment, the expense account, and millions of dollars in un-exercised options, and moved into a 100 square foot flat in San Francisco. He was now a CEO. His new company - a charity - was called Room To Read. Room to Read's vision is to help 10 million children in Asia to read by 2010. With an estimated 1 billion illiterate in the world, John knows he is only making a dent, but it is an impressive dent. Almost as impressive as the organization that he runs. Today, Room to Read operates in Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Laos, and South Africa, and is spreading fast. The lessons from working at one of the world's greatest corporations were not lost on John, as he runs a remarkably lean operation with an overhead of just over 5%... a pittance compared with most major charities. 
Wood runs his charity like a business, and he learned business from the very best. He is fanatical about accountability and results, and transparent with his donors for investment and results. In few places will you see the kind of honest, direct reporting of what money went where that you will at Room to Read. And what have he and his tiny team done in the last 6 years? To date Room to Read has donated over 1 million English language books. They have also given 1 million copies of their 99 self-published books: local language children's books which employ writers, artists, and printers in the regions they serve. They have established over 3,370 libraries and built over 220 schools from scratch. Significantly they have not just "given". Through what they call "Challenge Grants", they have demanded participation back from the schools and communities they serve, in the form of sites, labor and materials to build the libraries and schools so that the community "owns" the end product. |
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QUOTABLE QUOTES I believe that individuals can make a difference in society. Since periods of change such as the present one come so rarely in human history, it is up to each of us to make the best use of our time to help create a happier world. The Dalai Lama |
Room to Read has not just given books, bricks and mortar, they have even dealt with societal roadblocks to education. In Asia, most young women do not have the chance to go to school; that is a privilege afforded first to the male children. So women are oppressed. But of course, educating women not only creates equality in a society, but if women are educated they are likely to educate their children, and the impact grows over generations. To date over 2,300 young women have had their lives changed, and their children's lives if they have them, by being given full scholarships. And to help bring the rural parts of Asia into the modern world as fast as possible, they have also established over 100 Computer and Language labs where students can learn computer skills and English, two critical tools they will need to work in the global village. 
When you put all this together, Room to Read has impacted the lives of over 1.2 million kids. Not bad for a guy who was just trying to have a vacation from the hectic life of an executive. Looking for a charity where a small donation will make a big impact? It is hard to beat these numbers: Now that's ROI. 
And what is the mark of John Wood and his charity? Well the impact on the millions he has already touched is immeasurable, and it will continue to grow. But there is more. John has been challenged on spending the money in Asia instead of at home. But consider this. We live in a time where America has, frankly, alienated most of the world and caused rifts that may take many generations to heal. "What do people overseas see of America?" Wood says. "What do they see that tells them that Americans are a kind, generous people? If we can help their communities build schools and libraries, the parents and their kids will be friends of America forever. That's how we need to spend money instead of spending $400 billion on the military. If we spent 1 per cent of that on building schools and libraries abroad, we might never have to bomb people." Amen. Room to Read runs on local volunteer organizations. You can find out more about what they are doing and how you can help at www.roomtoread.org. |
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Please visit us at www.themarkofaleader.com. Copyright 2006 Mark of a Leader |
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