Philanthrocapitalism books of the year

As feared in my predictions at the start of the year, 2017 has all too often been a story of "misanthrocapitalism" rather than philanthrocapitalism. Blame, principally, the American president and his cabinet, and their allies in Congress - the wealthiest group of individuals ever to run a country, and apparently determined by their actions to prove right all those who think that all that business folk want is to make as much money as possible, as fast as possible, without giving a thought to the adverse consequences this activity may have for the world.

Still, for anyone who still thinks wealth creators and the entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a genuine humanitarian commitment, can play a part in improving the state of the world, this year saw the publication of some excellent reading matter. Here, in no particular order, are philanthrocapitalism's best of 2017:

"Putting Wealth to Work: Philanthropy for Today or Investing for Tomorrow?", by Joel Fleishman His unique blend of academic scholarship and a lifetime of practical experience in the world of philanthropy ensures that anything Mr Fleishman writes is a treasure trove of useful knowledge. His latest book is no exception, building, literally, on "The Foundation" to include a look at the newer philanthropists and their innovative methods. While he shares many of the conclusions of "Philanthrocapitalism", including its hopeful attitude towards the current golden era of giving, he spends a large chunk of the book taking issue, fairly persuasively, with the fashion among new philanthropists for "spending down" their wealth during their lifetimes and their accompanying hostility towards creating "perpetual foundations", designed to last forever.

"The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age", by David Callahan One of the things that Michael Green and I championed in "Philanthrocapitalism" was the need for renewed public debate on what should be the "social contract" between the rich, business and the rest of us. This is a challenge taken up in this probing book by Mr Callahan, editor of the influential Inside Philanthropy website. If he tends to focus overly on the negative, there is lots of valuable (and all too often dismaying) information here, and many important points that should be considered by anyone who wants philanthrocapitalism to fulfill what Mr Green and I still consider its huge potential.

"Engines of Impact: Essentials of Strategic Leadership in the Non-Profit Sector", by William Meehan and Kim Starkey Jonker One of the most common mistakes of business people is to think it is easier to succeed in the non-profit sector than in the world of making money. William Meehan and Kim Starkey-Jonker start with the, correct, assumption that the opposite is true. The challenges facing non-profits are often harder than those facing profit-seeking enterprises, and the most successful non-profits are "some of the most impressive enterprises in the world". In the book, they examine what are the key factors that have enabled the greatest non-profits to succeed, offering a blue-print for thoughtful and effective leadership in the sector. Dry at times, but illuminating.

"The Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas - And What to Do About It", by Ross Baird Is Silicon Valley's lauded innovation engine misfiring disastrously, generating only marginal improvements to the lifestyles of a wealthy elite rather than solving the big challenges of the real world? Mr Baird of Village Capital, a pioneering fusion of venture capital and crowd intelligence, thinks so, and has some excellent suggestions on what to about it.

"Innovation and its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies", by Calestous Juma This insightful book was actually published last year, but I have included it following the untimely death last week of its author. Calestous Juma was a social entrepreneur all his life, ever since he spent much of his time as a teenager in Kenya fixing things that were broken. A great believer in the power of new technology to improve human well-being, his last book is full of wisdom, delivered with characteristic warmth and wit, on how to overcome the many barriers that exist to getting new technology adopted by the people who need it most.

"Reframing Finance: New Models of Long-Term Investment Management", by Ashby Monk, Rajiv Sharma and Duncan Sinclair There is rightly much talk nowadays about the ills of short-termism and the need to refocus the global financial system on the long term. Most of this talk turns into hot air as soon as the question is asked, "But how do we do it?" So, take a bow, Messrs Monk, Sharma and Sinclair, who have set out a thoroughly practical and wide-ranging agenda for aligning finance with the goal of improving the world over the long-term. It deserves to be widely read by policymakers, money managers, philanthrocapitalists and indeed anyone interested in improving how our early 21st century version of capitalism works.

"Better Business, Better World", by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission Despite being the work a group of "great and good", this is essential reading for anyone thinking seriously about whether or how the world can achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Crisp and clear, the report has lots of powerful data, underscoring that trillions of dollars a year of extra private capital will have to be deployed to have any chance of success, and also highlighting the many under-invested business opportunities where money deployed has every chance of excellent financial returns.

"Finding My Virginity", by Sir Richard Branson The ubiquitous, bearded, bon vivant entrepreneur updates his life story, taking forward his earlier "Losing My Virginity" (1998), and several other partial updates, with coverage of the subsequent years in which explicitly trying to do good has become a core part of his business and personal mission. A rollicking yarn, always interesting, with some powerful lessons for philanthrocapitalists along the way.

"The Power of Purpose: Inspire Teams, Engage Customers, Transform Business", by John O'Brien and Andrew Cave "Purpose" is arguably the business buzzword of the year, as CEOs belatedly try to rebuild public trust in the corporate world from its current pitiful level. It is now rare to hear a suit talk about maximising profit; far more likely that he (or occasionally she) will enthuse about the underlying mission to improve the world that (the CEO will claim) makes the company tick. But,so far, with a few notable exceptions, not much of this talk has gone very far in terms of action. Little has been written on purpose applied to business, so Messrs O'Brien and Cave enjoy a first-mover advantage as they explore what differentiates a genuinely purpose-driven company from a mere talker.

"The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation" (2017 edition), by Frans Johansson First published in 2004, the release of this thoroughly updated edition could not have been better timed. "The Medici Effect" makes the case that diversity, especially the intersection of diverse perspectives and ideas, is a powerful driver of innovation. Encouragingly from a philanthrocapitalism perspective, this message seems to have been absorbed by a growing number of the world's leading companies, which increasingly are standing up for diversity and inclusion at a time when the political wind is turning intolerant and exclusionary. An inspiring (re)read.

"The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google", by Scott Galloway Anyone interested in improving the state of the world needs to understand arguably the four most important companies on the planet (outside China, anyway) today. Mr Galloway spells out how they got there, each by dominating digital delivery of one of the most basic human desires: consumption (Amazon), God (Google). love (Facebook) and sex (Apple). His compelling analysis leaves the reader in no doubt that coping with and managing their dominance will be one of the bigger challenges for human society in the next decade or more, and that the political storms that have so far gathered around the Four are but summer drizzle compared with the political hurricanes likely to follow. Finding ways to nudge these companies in the right direction will be a huge challenge/opportunity for philanthrocapitalists. And not without hope: Google started out committed to do no evil, after all.

"Give Work: Reversing Poverty One Job at a Time", by Leila Janah Samasource, a social enterprise that Leila Janah launched a decade ago, was built on the vision that some of the most important needs of the most desperate people on earth could be met by connecting them to the digital economy - offering remote online work in refugee camps. Doing this at scale has proved far from straightforward, which seems only to have strengthened the conviction she has expressed in this book, that many of the world's biggest problems would shrink or vanish if only we gave poor and needy people the opportunity to doing meaningful, fairly paid work. And, despite all the scaremongering today about technology as a job destroyer, Ms Janah also is surely right that the connectivity tech provides increases hugely the possibility that the world can extend that opportunity to places that have previously seemed impossibly out of reach. If only there were more will to do so.

"The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World", by Jeff Goodell With its vision of cities such as New York and Miami sinking into the rising seas, this is an alarming book, but not alas an alarmist one. Impeccably timed for a year of increasingly extreme and destructive weather and America's declared withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, Mr Goodell has written a compelling, scientifically thorough tale of the damage likely to be done, especially to coastal cities, by rising global temperatures. By now, humanity - and, above all, philanthrocapitalists - should not need another wake up call. But this one is written to be intelligible to a wide audience - maybe even a President who owns lots of valuable coastal real estate, if only he would read it.

"Juvenescence: Investing in the Age of Longevity", by Jim Mellon and Al Chalabi One of the "moonshot" causes embraced by a growing number of tech industry philanthrocapitalists is to extend human lifespans dramatically, or even "abolish death". And as Bill Gates's recent donation to the fight against dementure highlighted, they are also focusing on how to improve the quality of life during all those extra twilight years. This book, by Mr Mellon, a successful investor, and Mr Chalabi, provides a fascinating tour of anti-ageing science, and highlights areas that are ripe for profitable (impact) investment.

"Principles: Life and Work", by Ray Dalio The first time I interviewed billionaire hedge funder and philanthropist Ray Dalio, at the end he asked me, "How did I do?" I told him he would find out when he read my article. But the question came from his deeply-ingrained practice of trying to be curious, honest and transparent with everyone - and expecting the same of them. As his memoir makes clear, Mr Dalio questions everything, to the extent that some people find him, and the business, philanthropy and life philosophy he has developed through his questioning, quite weird. Yet there is plenty of wisdom here for anyone inclined to self-reflection or trying to live an intentional, principled life at work, rest and play.

"Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy", by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant Nothing is harder than trying to lead others while coping with a profound personal challenge at home, as Sheryl Sandberg has discovered. Her first book set out to create a social movement, urging women to "lean in" more to take on leadership roles. It also generated critical push back from some women who felt that this was all very well for the world's most famous and influential female corporate executive to say, but not so easy for her less powerful sisters. No one can accuse Ms Sandberg of having things easy now, having suffered an awful personal loss when her husband died suddenly on a family vacation. Reflecting on this experience with Adam Grant, author of the wonderful "Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success", Ms Sandberg has written a book that will speak to anyone experiencing grief, or indeed struggling to be resilient in the face of any tough personal challenge.

"Imaginal Cells: Visions of Transformation", by Kim Polman and Stephen Vasconcellos-Sharpe If it is inspiration you want, look no further. This terrific collection of essays by the likes of Al Gore, Mo Ibrahim and Desmond Tutu makes the case that, despite some appearances to the contrary, we are in a new era of global compassion, and includes a thoughtful set of reflections on the history and future of the "Golden Rule": love your neighbour as yourself.

Happy reading - and do let me know if there are any great books I missed that should be on this list.

PS. And if you want to know the interesting selection of books that mega-philanthrocapitalist Bill Gates is recommending this year, click here