Review by Booklist Review
Rockefeller Foundation president Shah has worked on global philanthropic projects and uses this book to share his model for generating large-scale change. As a former employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he worked on a project to help vaccinate 900 million children and devised ways to stop the Ebola-virus outbreak. By drawing on his experiences, he shares how to solve problems, not just improve situations. Shah begins by teaching readers how to set bold goals, identify a big bet, pick a pathway forward, and maintain the momentum to keep moving. The vaccination challenge took years of study, global teamwork, and asking a simple question like "why are children not being vaccinated?" In the end, the foundation developed a way to make vaccinations more mainstream and impacted the lives of many. As his experiences unfold, Shah shares solid tips on how to take different approaches to situations and exercises to cut through complexity and roadblocks. Readers who are curious about how to make big impacts will find this book inspiring.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rockefeller Foundation president Shah's encouraging debut couches advice on making broad social change in stories from his career. He illustrates how asking "a simple question" can "reorient thinking, crack open possibilities, and reveal paths previously hidden" by recounting how during his time advancing global vaccination efforts for the Gates Foundation, he asked UNICEF, vaccine makers, and health workers "what would you do if you had a magic wand." He learned that UNICEF's inconsistent funding sources made it difficult for vaccine producers to plan around their needs, leading Shah to focus on securing long-term funding commitments. Entreating readers to "keep experimenting," Shah recalls realizing as administrator of USAID during Liberia's 2014 Ebola outbreak that the conventional response--isolating the infected--was not feasible given the scale of the epidemic, prompting him to support more culturally sensitive measures, such as providing protective gear so traditional burial teams could safely bury the dead, which had previously been a transmission hazard. Shah's uplifting stories of helping coordinate medical care in postearthquake Haiti and increasing access to Covid-19 testing in the U.S. over the first year of the pandemic underscore his message that meeting apparently insurmountable goals requires thinking big, though the broad recommendations ("take concerns as challenges"; "when you screw up, own it and apologize") sometimes feel like afterthoughts to his anecdotes. Still, this will inspire. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The president of the Rockefeller Foundation shows why big problems require big responses. Often, the world's problems seem too large and complicated to even describe, let alone overcome. Shah recognizes this sense of being overwhelmed, but he insists that finding a solution is always possible. The author's experience is appropriate to his subject: He started his career at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he played a central role in a massive program of vaccination in developing countries, and he went on to serve as the administrator for the United States Agency for International Development under Barack Obama. As the author notes, there was a debate about the most effective way to improve public health through philanthropic aid, but when the goal of vaccinating 900 million children was eventually set, everyone signed on. The key was to break down the problem into manageable segments, determining the crucial obstacles. Keeping the target firmly in mind reduced the danger of becoming bogged down in complexity. Reliable metrics were also necessary to gauge progress and identify problems with implementation. Shah took the methodology with him when he jumped into the head role of the Rockefeller Foundation. He had to gain the endorsement of heads of state and corporate leaders to provide financial backing, political support, and technical expertise. He guided a number of important projects to fruition, including a program to bring sustainable electricity to rural areas in India. While Shah underlines the critical role of experts in any "big bet" project, he also accepts that input from the community being affected is essential. He concludes each chapter with a distilled list of lessons, highlighting the importance of a clear purpose and firm strategy. His tone occasionally becomes a bit self-righteous, but in the end, he offers a lot of important information about getting from vision to outcome. Mixing inspiration and practical advice, this is a useful read for leaders at every level. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
