Clara Miller, President of the F. B. Heron Foundation: The Alternative, is not only important reading, it's imperative. Miller, a trained engineer, the one-time manager of a top social service organization and most importantly, the son of a remarkable single mother, has both lived and observed the failings embodied in our attitudes toward the poor and, as a result, the flaws in our systems meant to help people in poverty. He merges heart and soul with system thinking to yield a prescription featuring the real math, trust relationships and courage that can change the "us and them," to "upward together" and put American families in the driver's seat to build their futures.

Critiques and solutions offered by social changemakers from all walks of life The United States is living through a period of polarization and upheaval. We hunger for answers, yet too often turn to the same people and institutions, expecting different outcomes. How can this be? This book takes a different angle. It features award-winning social innovators from all walks of life with decades of experience of working in and with their communities across America. In twenty-two deep, idea-packed conversations, they share their analyses, practical insights, and policy recommendations ? on how to gain common ground, get the country unstuck, and increase prosperity and well-being for all. These narratives share a common thread: They see community members ? workers, young people, parents, neighbors, from Appalachia to Silicon Valley, from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes ? as creative, resourceful, and strong, with unique expertise and lived experience of the problem at hand, whose changemaking energy can be tapped to build a better future for all of us.

What does it mean to be poor in Britain and America? For decades the primary narrative about poverty in both countries is that it has been caused by personal flaws or ‘bad life decisions’ rather than policy choices or economic inequality. This misleading account has become deeply embedded in the public consciousness with serious ramifications for how financially vulnerable people are seen, spoken about and treated. Drawing on a two-year multi-platform initiative, this book by award-winning journalist and author Mary O’Hara, asks how we can overturn this portrayal once and for all. Crucially, she turns to the real experts to try to find answers – the people who live it.

Escape common business myths to unleash game-changing productivity Written by Shingo Prize winner Jacob Stoller, Productivity Reimagined shows how most companies are constrained by deeply engrained myths that prevent employees from reaching their full productive potential, causing frustration, poor decisions, and disappointing results. Evidence is drawn from Toyota and dozens of other companies that have countered these myths to build strong collaborative cultures and achieve sustainable growth. Arguments are reinforced by the latest science on human behavior and systems theory and supported by more than 60 interviews from prominent CEOs, consultants, academics, executive directors, and EVPs in the context of today's pressing global issues, including labor shortage, income inequality, job-related stress, supply chain instability, and climate change. In this book, readers will learn: Why we are facing a global productivity crisis despite what the news media are telling us Why frontline employees aren't to blame for low productivity, and that the boss doesn't always know best Why the whole does not equal the sum of the parts, and that the past doesn't necessarily determine the future Why a strong workplace culture is the essential enabler for high productivity, and how to instill it As companies face the new realities of the global economy, Productivity Reimagined is an essential resource for forward-thinking executives, managers, and business leaders looking to solve the productivity puzzle and empower their workforces to perform at their best.

Paul Fairchild, born in Oklahoma in 1941, has had a life of variety in work, education, literature, the arts, and human relations. He began writing at an early age and now has written his first book. A growing interest in political developments and their relation to human wellbeing guided his desire to write. His education added to that desire. It includes his bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Regis College, his law degree from Loyola University of Los Angeles, and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Kansas.

An “essential and engaging ” (Richard Florida) exploration of social decline in America: its true causes and the practical steps each of us can take to combat it, starting with the places we call home. The neighborhoods we live in impact our lives in so many ways: they determine who we know, what resources and opportunities we have access to, the quality of schools our kids go to, our sense of security and belonging, and even how long we live. Yet too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between. In Fragile Neighborhoods, fragile states expert Seth D. Kaplan offers a bold new vision for addressing social decline in America, one zip code at a time. By revitalizing our local institutions—and the social ties that knit them together—we can all turn our neighborhoods into places where people and families can thrive. Readers will meet the innovative individuals and organizations pioneering new approaches to everything from youth mentoring to affordable housing: people like Dreama, a former lawyer whose organization works with local leaders and educators in rural Appalachia to equip young people with the social support they need to succeed in school; and Chris, whose Detroit-based non-profit turns vacant school buildings into community resource hubs. Along the way, Kaplan offers a set of practical lessons to inspire similar work, reminding us that when change is hyperlocal, everyone has the opportunity to contribute.

The issues of poverty, inequality, racial justice, and climate change have never been more pressing or paralyzing. Current approaches to social change, which rely on industrial models of production and power to "solve" social problems, are not helping. In fact, they are designed to entrench the status quo. In The Systems Work of Social Change, Cynthia Rayner and François Bonnici draw on two hundred years of history and a treasure trove of stories of committed social changemakers to uncover principles and practices for social change that radically depart from these approaches. Rather than delivering "solutions," these principles and practices focus on the process of change itself. Through rich storytelling and lucid analysis, Rayner and Bonnici show that connection, context, and power sit at the heart of the change process, ensuring broader agency for people and communities to create social systems that are responsive and representative in a rapidly changing world. Simple yet profound, this book distills a timely set of lessons for practitioners, leaders, scholars, and policymakers.