Audacious Social Impact
Social impact is the effect of an organization’s activities and outputs on the welfare of human beings and is key to a healthy society. If we are willing to examine the root causes impeding organizations from achieving their mission, we can then identify and address the roadblocks to scaling social impact. This is especially true now as we enter into this unprecedented era of a strengthening economy with a tight labor market combined with increasing tension between economic, social, and political turmoil. Now more than ever, there is an increased need to align business and economies in ways that increase positive social impact.
Audacious Social Impact examines the “how” by providing fundamental principles, frameworks, examples, and in some cases, tools that strive to advance meaningful solutions based on performance or outcomes measured through achievement. Drawing on decades of for-profit and nonprofit experiences and secondary research, four focus areas are required to execute a strategic plan in any organization. I introduce these four focus areas through practical, real-world examples. The intersection of the four focus areas forms the framework for “audacious social impact."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maurice Woods grew up as an ordinary kid in a low-income housing development. His personal and professional experiences have evolved him into a high-integrity leader known for acting quickly and boldly to link strategy, operations, and people processes to drive performance-based results. He has co-authored multiple whitepapers and thought-leadership case studies including, Business and Information Technology Discipline-Closing the Execution Gap, Developing an eMarket Participant Adoption Program that Delivers, and Focus on Retail: Applying Automatic Identification to Improve Product Availability at the Retail Shelf. He received his MBA from Northwestern University—The Kellogg School of Management.
What People Are Saying
““Maurice’s career has provided him a unique cross-industry perspective on how to lead organizations to be both high-performing and socially impactful. Clearly, with the right leadership in place, organizations can do good and do great. His book, “Audacious Social Impact,” sits at that intersection and contains frameworks and advice worth adding to your leadership toolkit.””
“Audacious Social Impact is a must-read for anyone who wants their organization to make a difference in this world. Maurice Woods gives us a clear and compelling process that covers all the bases. What makes it stand out are the strategies for sustainability he embeds at each stage. Far too many organizations introduce well-intended initiatives, only to see them quickly fade because they didn’t incorporate elements that make them easy to sustain. This book shows how to avoid the traps, and set yourself up for long-term success.”
“It is not often enough that educational practitioners from our nation’s Great City Schools step up with a big book that discusses lessons learned and implications for social organizations of all types. This book is one of those rare occasions, and it deserves to be read now more than ever by everyone hoping to make a positive contribution.”
“Audacious Social Impact is an outstanding management playbook on how to develop building blocks for creating a sustainable socially focused organization. It is an easy read that provides a sound framework anyone can adapt for success. The book blends management approaches with a variety of business case examples, which are easy to follow and learn from. This is the first book I have encountered that offers a common sense approach towards constructing a successful organization.”
“Maurice Woods has expertly captured the success factors for those organizations who desire to make a meaningful social impact. Whether for-profit or nonprofit, leaders from across organizations and industries would benefit from reading this insightful, challenging and remarkable guide for creating “audacious social impact”! ”
“Audacious Social Impact guides the reader on understanding how to create and sustain the success of a high performing organization achieving social impact. Maurice Woods successfully tackles a complex issue and translates his 25 years of corporate and government experience into lessons readers can understand and act on.”
“Easy and enjoyable read filled with very practical advice that can be applied immediately. In fact, I have some initiatives in the development phase that I will apply these concepts.”
“Audacious Social Impact is a must read for leaders and organizations seeking to have a definitive impact on the well-being of our society. Maurice offers insightful guidance on how organizations can not only initiate social impact, but also sustain it. His book provides practical strategies and frameworks that can be used as roadmaps towards achieving increased levels of performance and productivity. Audacious Social Impact is a valuable tool for any socially-conscious organization.”
“Absolutely Brilliant!
Maurice Woods book, Audacious Social Impact, provides a trove of information that so many managers overlook. The four-step model is simple and yet powerful to where it can be applied to any scenario that enables businesses and organizations to reach new heights. A must read if you are serious about taking your strategy to the next level.”