Leaving Microsoft to Change the World
by John Wood, Wood, John · first published 2006
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Memoir of a Microsoft executive who leaves corporate life to start Room to Read, a nonprofit building schools and libraries. Practical on founding a nonprofit, for readers curious about social entrepreneurship.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
John Wood discovered his passion, his greatest success, and his life's work—not at business school or leading Microsoft's charge into Asia in the 1990s—but on a soul-searching trip to the Himalayas. Wood felt trapped between an all-consuming career and a desire to do something lasting and significant. Stressed from the demands of his job, he took a vacation trekking in Nepal because a friend had told him, "If you get high enough in the mountains, you can't hear Steve Ballmer yelling at you anymore."Instead of being the antidote to the rat race, that trip convinced John Wood to divert the bound
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…on The Diamond Age. Also Douglas Adams, Vernor Vinge, Richard K. Morgan, and all kinds of other stuff. I like to read almost as much as I like to program. Best nonfiction I have read in a while: "Leaving Microsoft To Change The World" by John Wood. A Microsoft VP leaves to pursue his dream of changing the world with books, and ends up founding Room to Read (http://www.roomtoread.org/ .) Highly recommended.
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗We also recently found a great book on this topic: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World (http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/) by John Wood founder of Room to Read (roomtoread.org). They require locals to build libraries and schools and raise the material and labor. Then they pay for scholarships…
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on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗If you're looking for something in the same vein but more substantial, I recommend _Leaving Microsoft to Change The World_ by John Wood. In the book, John Wood describes his dissatisfaction with the Microsoft executive lifestyle (not much of a life, he thinks) and explains the origins & philosophy (importance of educating…
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World - John Wood, Influence - Robert Cialdini, The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Moments of Truth - Jan Carlzon
on “Ask HN: Good books for the holiday season?” ↗…the door" part) of nonprofits is often what causes them to fail. PG, assuming that you're as connected in the business world as I assume you are, I would recommend reaching out to John Wood, author of "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World" - http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/ His book fundamentally changed my view on how successful nonprofits are built.
on “YC Will Now Fund Nonprofits Too” ↗I really enjoyed Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood. It's fairly obscure though - I was surprised to see it mentioned here.!
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…Goggins Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business - Gino Wickman Source Code - Bill Gates Mythos - Stephen Fry Educated - Tara Westover Leaving Microsoft to Change the World - John Wood Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism is a memoir - Sarah Wynn-Williams Hail Mary - Andy Weir Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut The War of the Worlds…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…cause you should support, but that's what I believe. Figure out the causes that matter to you, research those, then maybe you'll find some angle of attack. Incidentally, a guy who did this wrote a book "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World". He was a marketing guy, but he does run his charity with a lot of the style of a tech company. Maybe that book will give you ideas. http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/
on “Ask HN: The best way to put technical skills to the greater good?” ↗