Here at PhilanthropyMiami, we just love reading new books. Now, we’re not so geeky as to actually take these to the beach, but we did make time to check out three recent new works over the summer months. Two are directly related to the sector, and the other is just pure brain candy for our fellow “word-nerds.”

Lean Impact by Ann Mei Chang

We became acquainted with Ann Mei Chang last December when she came to Miami to workshop the ideas in her new book, Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good. We were so impressed that we knew she just had to headline our annual conference, Ignite! The Collision of Ideas and Impact. And if you were there, you know she hit us head-on with some great ideas to deliver impact in any organization.

Lean Impact is a hands-on guide designed to exponentially increase the impact of our time and money. It’s designed to maximize social benefit in the face of the complex challenges in today’s world. At the heart of the model is the scientific method that relies on hypothesis-driven experiments to reduce risk and increase the pace of learning. It accepts the reality that no solution is likely to be designed perfectly at the outset, thus the ability to rapidly adapt is essential. Lean Impact draws on best practices from The Lean Startup and beyond and introduces new techniques that are tailored to the unique nature and needs of mission-driven organizations. This combination of scientific rigor and entrepreneurial agility can dramatically increase both the depth and breadth of an organization’s impact.

Chang is a former Silicon Valley exec (think Google, Apple, and Intuit) who turned her time and talents to the nonprofit sector. She served as Chief Innovation Officer at USAID and then as Executive Director of the U.S. Global Lab.

This is a volume well worth delving into.

Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose by Jean Case

The Case Foundation’s Be Fearless framework has been an inspiration to us for years. In fact, we built the 2018 PhilanthropyMiami conference around it. Now foundation CEO Jean Case has gathered some inspirational stories into a single volume organized around the five pillars of the framework:

Make Big Bets and Make History

Experiment Early and Often

Make Failure Matter

Reach Beyond Your Bubble

Let Urgency Conquer Fear

The framework is an excellent tool for leadership teams, for inspiring those we lead, and frankly, for approaching our own individual lives. This book is an enjoyable and inspiring read. You can learn much more at the Be Fearless Hub.

Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer

This one is for those among us who love the English language. And trust us, the title alone gives you a hint to Dreyer’s approach to this book.

Wait, wait…hear us out. We’re not crazy. While we would not consider the style manuals published by the Associated Press and University of Chicago Press fun reading, this one actually is.

Dreyer is the copy chief at Random House and is funny, opinionated, and very much on point in his opinions. Here’s a bon mot indicative of his prose: “Only godless savages eschew the series comma.” Then there’s this: “The problem with mnemonic devices is that I can never remember them.”

I read this over a couple of afternoons this summer, and it truly had us LOL. If you love language and writing or know that you need to brush up on your communication skills, spend some time with this book.