SAN FRANCISCO, CA. "“ January 6, 2009 - Business has the power to change the world, but social enterprises embrace that opportunity more aggressively than others do. These businesses put their mission first-what they sell or what service they provide is a means to accomplishing a larger more meaningful goal, rather than an end in and of itself. Their front-and-center commitment to doing good makes social enterprises immensely attractive. But if you want to run one successfully, you have to manage a tricky balancing act in staying competitive while also remaining true to your social purpose.

In Mission, Inc.: The Practitioner's Guide to Social Enterprise social entrepreneurs Kevin Lynch and Julius Walls Jr. draw on their own extensive experiences and those of twenty other social enterprise leaders to focus on the fundamental tactics that make the difference between success and failure. Lynch and Walls are uniquely qualified to educate readers about how to succeed in social enterprise. Lynch is the president of Rebuild Resources, which helps recovering addicts and alcoholics find a path to sobriety and self-sufficiency by offering them transitional employment. Walls, meanwhile, is the president and CEO of Greyston Bakery, which hires men and women with little or no work experiences, many of whom have backgrounds that include homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse, welfare dependency, domestic violence, and illiteracy.

Exploring the many paradoxes that can hamstring social enterprises, the authors explain how starting and running a social enterprise requires leaders to adopt an entirely different mindset and often a wholly different perspective on the day-to-day choices they’re forced to make. Likewise, Lynch and Walls help readers grapple with a different set of expectations from employees, investors, customers, and the community. For social enterprise practitioners, these expectations present an added layer of difficulty-but they can also offer unique advantages, which the authors explain how to leverage.

Whether readers are looking for guidance on finding and hiring talent, marketing, finances, or scaling, this practical, accessible guide to successful social entrepreneurship offers clear and compelling answers that light the way.

Advanced praise for Mission, Inc.:

"Read this book and keep it nearby. It is jam-packed with useful and relevant information not only for the aspiring social entrepreneur but for the experienced one as well. I learned a lot that will help me in my own business."-Michael Hannigan, President and cofounder, Give Something Back, Inc.

"Kevin Lynch and Julius Walls have written the most accessible, practical approach to social enterprise in years! Newbies and veterans alike can mine their work over and over again and never come away empty."-Jerr Boschee, founder and Executive Director, The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs, and Visiting Professor of the Practice in Social Enterprise, Carnegie Mellon University

"Like the social enterprises it celebrates, Mission, Inc. successfully juggles a ‘double bottom line,’ integrating a bold vision for business as a vehicle for social impact with exceptional practical advice for the organizations and people that increasingly pursue an idea whose time has come."-Jim Schorr, Professor, Vanderbilt University, and former CEO, Juma Ventures

About the authors:

Kevin Lynch is president of Rebuild Resources, a nonprofit, social purpose enterprise that helps chronic addicts and alcoholics find a path to sobriety and self-sufficiency through employment and spiritual recovery.

Julius Walls, Jr. is president and CEO of Greyston Bakery ("We don’t hire people to bake brownies. We bake brownies to hire people.") and senior vice president for business for the Greyston Foundation.

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Berrett-Koehler Publishers is a mission-based, independent publishing company located in Oakland, CA. Berrett-Koehler’s (BK) mission is - Connecting People and Ideas to Create a World that Works for All. BK publishes books in the areas of sustainable business, corporate social responsbility, leadership, social justice, politics, economics, and personal development. BK is both a B-Corp and a Benefit Corporation.

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