Review NONFICTION

tivities must be laid out periodically over

a period of months and years. Small or
mid-sized nonprofits should have some-
thing of note happening every quarter,
while large organizations must haye
something major every month." Even arts
managers with expertise in board devel-
opment or institutional marketing can
appreciate a book that gathers these top-
ics together in one package. Kaiser calls
his holistic method for the management
of arts organizations "the cycle: every ac-
tivityprogramming, programmatic and
institutional marketing, developing rela-
tionships with important constituents,
and even controlling costsfeeds into a-
beneficial cycle that increases the impact
of the institution." Kaiser has worke'd
with the Kennedy Center, the Royal
Opera House, American Ballet Theatre,
and Alvin Ailey and uses anecdotes from
his experience with all of these organiza-
tions to sttngthen his arguments. How-
ever, his advice can be applied to other
types of nonprofits as well. 11 illus.
(Sept.)
^ The Business Solution to
Poverty: Designing Products and
Services for Three Biiiion New
Customers
Paul Polak and Mai Warwick. Berrett-Koehler
(Ingram, di st ) , $27.95 trade paper (240p)
ISBN 978-1-60994-077-5
This mspiring manifesto from
Windhorse International CEO Polak { O u t
of Poverty) and entrepreneur Warwick
{ Fu ndraising When Money Is Tight) features
a comprehensive roadmap for executives
and entrepreneurs who wish to address
the needs of the "bottom bilhons" who
live on $2 a day or less: clean water, re-
newable energy, affordable housing, acces-
sible health care and education, and jobs.
As Polak and Warwick write, "The poor
need to be viewed as consumers, not as
objects of pity and recipients of charity."
The authors grimly describe how micro-
loan setups have failed, development
money has been misused, and develop-
ment work has been abandoned. Better to
establish small-scale businesses, they ar-
guebut only if companies can make a
major impact: "If you don't understand
the problem you've set out to solve from
your customers' perspective; if your prod-
uct or service won't dramatically inctease
their income; and if you can't send 100
million of [your products], don't bother."
The authors' strategies include delivery to
the last 500 feet (recruiting "local people
at local wages in a sales and distribution
network that can reach even the most iso-
lated villages and homes") and "Zeto-
Based Design" (designing products from
scratch "without preconceptions or exist-
ing models to guide you... operating in a
way that's calculated to transform the
lives of all your customers"). Companies
have opportunities to produce and sell
goods and services in the developing
world that the developed world takes for
granted: crop insurance, nutritious food,
toilets, electricity, schools, and health ser-
vices. This blueprint should be required
reading, since, as Polak reminds readers,
"We can't donate ourselves out of pover-
ty." (Sept.)
Beyond the idea: How to Execute
Innovation in Any Organization
Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble. St.
Martin's, $19.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-250-
04017-6
In this timely book. Tuck School of
Business professor Govindarajan and con-
sultant Trimble (coauthors o Reverse
Innovation) show how innovation can be
used in any business situation. Noting
that most companies are built for day-to-
day operations rather than for innovation,
the authors present strategies for change,
deftly detailing three business models
that overcome these limitations: model S,
for small initiatives; model R, for repeat-
able initiatives; and model C, for other
initiatives. Illustrating their theories with
business plans from BMW, Apple, and
other companies, the authors point out
the potential pitfalls of each approach.
Next, they explain how to assemble tar-
geted teams to execute these initiatives:
dedicated teams, which are assigned to
these ventures full time, or nearly full
time; and shared staff, who contribute to'
these projects while also performing their
regular jobs. Govindarajan and Trimble
describe how to avoid conflict between
the two teams while simultaneously max-
imizing their output and inspiring their
dedication. A final chapter on lessons
learned solidifies these action plans. Three
appendices deal with strategy, change,
and the role of the chief innovation officer
(an increasingly popular job title), respec-
tively. Written in an accessible style, this
useful book will help companies of any
size tackle the task of innovation with rel-
atively little risk. Agent: Greg Ray,
International Thou ght Leader Network.
(Sept.)
What Do You Buy the Chiidren of
the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill
Your Wife? A Memoir of Jerusaiem
David Harris-Gershon. One World, $17. 95
(336p) ISBN 978-1-85168-996-5
In this courageous memoir, Harris-
Gershon stares down the thorny
Palestinian-Israeli crisis. The complex
conflict becomes a deeply personal matter
when his wife is seriously injured in a
Jerusalem terrorist bombing. The author,
a blogger for Tikku n magazine, takes us
through the lives of his wife, Jamie, and
Hamas bomber Mohammed Odeh in the
hours before the explosion at the Hebrew
University's cafeteria. He then describes
the horrible aftermath of the explosion,
Jamie's agonizing journey of healing, and
the death of her friends. While Harris-
Gershon's friends and family think he
should be outraged, he clings to his
Hebrew faith, seeking meaning from the
ordeal, concluding that the terrible act
was "the inevitable consequence of living
in Israel." His assured narrative pacean
excellent hybrid of moral confessional
and reporter diarymeasures the emo-
tional and spiritual impact of his wife's
recovery and his decision to find Odeh's
family in East Jerusalem. Harris-Gershon
seeks solace in the terrorist's remorse
upon his arrest. Full of unexpected sur-
prises and insight, this book serves up a
treasure of possible options of compro-
mise, forgiveness, and political coopera-
tion. Agent: Jessica Papin, Dystel &
Goderich. (Sept.)
Simple Dreams:
A Musicai iVIemoir
Linda Ronstadt. Simon & Schuster, $26 pa-
perback (208p) ISBN 978-1-4516-6872-8
Born in 1946 in Tucson, Ariz.,
Ronstadt counted among her relatives a
grandfather who wrote an arrangement of
Pirates of Penzance generations before she
starred in it on Broadway, and an aunt
whose collection of folk songs. Canciones
de m e Padre, would lend its title to
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