A Hospital With A Difference
Anne Lang, head of human resources at Winchester Hospital, pulls out a simple, black box and flips it open. Inside is a small but telling stack of reasons why this 229-bed community hospital is the state's top place to work. At Winchester, Lang and other managers keep index cards listing how employees prefer to be rewarded: in a meeting, in the hospital newsletter, personally, with chocolate or sp... posted on Nov 9, 3143 reads

A Dying Boy's Last Wish
Brenden was the kid who ran the fastest, climbed the highest and dreamed of becoming a marine photographer. Leukemia took away all those things, but not his wish to help others. "He's always thought about others. Never complained about having to go through this, ever," said his mother, Wendy Foster. When Brenden was first diagnosed with leukemia, he and his mom began a new tradition. Every night t... posted on Nov 11, 6779 reads

Finding A Lifeline & A Friend
In 2000, after 31 years of robust health, James Chippendale, a wealthy Dallas business executive who had traveled much of the world, was found to be suffering from a lethal form of leukemia. Mr. Chippendale's doctors told him that his only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant, and that the likelihood of finding a matching donor seemed bleak. More than 5,000 miles and a world away, Klaus... posted on Nov 13, 4694 reads

Measuring Stick For Managers
In one of its biggest polls, Gallup asked more than one million employees from a broad range of industries a series of questions designed to uncover the answer to the question, "What do talented employees need from their workplace?" The answer -- that talented employees need great managers -- led to the second research effort, which attempted to determine how the best managers find, focus, and kee... posted on Nov 17, 8694 reads

Kids Embrace The Giving Spirit
The very rich and the very famous capture the headlines for their charitable giving. But another group of avid philanthropists is also leaving its mark. Young people from grade school on are engaged as never before in making a direct difference in the world. They are donating via the Internet to favorite projects overseas, creating their own nonprofits to pursue social causes, and becoming grantma... posted on Nov 25, 3723 reads

The Boy With An Incredible Brain
This is an in-depth look at the astonishing mental capabilities of Daniel Tammet, born in Britain, and from a young age able to do extraordinary calculations in his head. Skeptics have thrown a number of challenges at him, for instance testing his ability to recite to 22,500 decimal points the calculation of Pi, as well as learning a language in a week. Tammet, in his gentle unassuming way, has pa... posted on Nov 27, 4254 reads

National Day of Listening
One of the largest oral history projects of its kind, the non-profit, Story Corps, has over the years enabled tens of thousands of everyday people to record the life stories of family and friends, because they believe that everybody's story matters and every life counts. This year, the organization has declared November 28, 2008 the first annual National Day of Listening -- and everyone's invited ... posted on Nov 28, 2279 reads

Clean Energy for the Developing World
Across much of the developing world, the dinner hour comes with a billow of smoke. That's because many of the world's 2 billion people who live without electricity continue to cook with wood, dung, and charcoal. These solid fuels may seem cheap, but their hidden costs are quite high. Burning them sends carbon into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. And the indoor air pollution they cause... posted on Dec 12, 2570 reads

Differently Abled
Javed Abidi, affected at birth with a spinal malady and confined to the wheelchair by medical negligence, is working to provide political visibility and economic opportunities for disabled persons. He rejuvenated the Indian chapter of Disabled People's International, a worldwide organization of people with disabilities, and mobilized the emergence of several grassroots groups across the country. S... posted on Dec 14, 1888 reads

Growing Seeds In Silence
"This story I'm about to share with you has been growing in the heart of many people on Cape Ann, where I live. It is the story of Jude, a young deaf man with green thumbs and a big heart who recently opened a plant store in our community called The Silent Seed. I first heard about him from my friend Nana who had noticed the new store during one of her walks and was so inspired by the owner that s... posted on Dec 13, 3982 reads

Cheering for the Other Side
They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. Did you hear that? The other team's fans. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gaine... posted on Dec 28, 6846 reads

Bella & Tarra: The Odd Couple
When elephants retire, many head for the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn. "Every elephant that comes here searches out someone that she then spends most all of her time with," says sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley. It's like having a best girlfriend, Buckley says -- "Somebody they can relate to, they have something in common with." But perhaps the closest friends of all are Tarra and Bella... posted on Jan 5, 38018 reads

A Lifetime of House Calls
In the sleepy country town of Yoakum, Texas everyone knows Doc Watson. Over the last 50 years, the tall and lanky family practitioner delivered a good many of the town's residents and doctored most of the others. The night Janet Jaco's little girl had to be rushed to the hospital with a sudden hemorrhage, David Watson walked the four blocks from his house to the Yoakum Community Hospital every hou... posted on Jan 11, 2687 reads

Inviting the World to Dinner
"Every week for the past 30 years, I've hosted a Sunday dinner in my home in Paris. People, including total strangers, call or e-mail to book a spot. I hold the salon in my atelier, which used to be a sculpture studio. The first 50 or 60 people who call may come, and twice that many when the weather is nice and we can overflow into the garden. Every Sunday a different friend prepares a feast. Last... posted on Jan 14, 6776 reads

Are You a Servant Leader?
Servant leadership is one of the most talked about yet least critically examined leadership philosophies. While many people identify with this leadership approach, an equal number are cynical and question whether such expectations of leaders are realistic. The following article provides a fascinating introduction to the concept based on the work of Robert Greenleaf and Larry Spears, and illuminate... posted on Jan 21, 7908 reads

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
Brothers Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman followed different paths in life, but they decided to collaborate on a book when they realized that Ori, with his MBA, and Rom, with a Ph.D. in psychology, kept running into the same dynamic puzzle through their work: What makes smart people make irrational decisions? In "Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior," the brothers Brafman attempt to explo... posted on Jan 31, 5460 reads

The Big Fun Box
Grant Prather knows what it's like to spend endless days in the sterile environment of a hospital room surrounded by tubes and treatment trays. Prather, 26, was born with cystic fibrosis, a debilitating disease that can progress to a systemic failure of the lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines. At one point, the doctors told his parents to prepare for his funeral. Although there's no cure for CF,... posted on Feb 7, 3767 reads

Financial Literacy for the Masses
For years John Bryant has been telling anyone who will listen about the problems caused by widespread ignorance of finance. In 1992, in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, he founded Operation HOPE, a non-profit organization, to give poor people in the worst-hit parts of the city "a hand-up, not a handout" through a mixture of financial education, advice and basic banking. Among other things, ... posted on Feb 9, 4443 reads

Sand Castles in South Africa
In 2007, Cape Town's Design Indaba conference organizers decided to use that concentrated creative energy to address a problem in their own backyard: the thousands of impoverished people living in makeshift shacks in South Africa's townships. Looking to create low-cost houses that could serve as models for the future, they launched the 10x10 Housing Project, which paired 10 leading international a... posted on Feb 12, 5080 reads

Benjamin Zander's Shining Eyes
There are 2 ways to approach this talk: 1. A man talks about classical music 2. A man discusses how to experience life and throws in some Chopin for good measure. Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it -- and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections. ... posted on Feb 15, 4706 reads

The Gift of Creative Confidence
Until about a year ago, David Kelley was on a roll. He had received a National Design Award, been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, held an endowed chair at the Stanford School of Engineering, and even won the Sir Misha Black Medal for his "distinguished contribution to design education." He also had a loving wife, a daughter to whom he was devoted, and a vast circle of friends t... posted on Feb 28, 5472 reads

Bringing Peace Corps Home
It all started when Mark Rembert and Taylor Stuckert decided to put aside work in the Peace Corps to see what they could do to help serve their own community. The two friends believed the Peace Corps philosophy, of helping communities help themselves. Last fall, Rembert wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper with an idea. "Let's designate Clinton County as the first green-enterprise zone.... posted on Mar 4, 2198 reads

The Gift-Economy House of Kelowna
"Once in a while you are given an incredible opportunity to really make a difference in one family's life," said a group of volunteers in a small Canadian town of Kelowna. Just like a popular reality TV show, their idea was to demolish and then rebuild a new house -- yes, a whole new house! -- for an amazing family of nine in their community. There was only one caveat: it was 100% community funded... posted on Mar 11, 2223 reads

Free Film Screenings in Rural Mexico
"Because the price of a movie ticket is often 20 percent of a family's monthly income, 90 percent of the Mexican population doesn't have access to the movies," 27-year-old Ariel Zylbersztejn says. So he started Cinepop, which projects movies onto inflatable screens and shows them free in public parks. Now reaching upwards of 350,000 people ever year, Mr. Zylbersztejn works with microcredit agenc... posted on Mar 12, 2111 reads

A Young Inventor with Heart
Max Wallack, who's 12, has been dreaming up ideas for new inventions since he was 6 years old. Many of them were inspired by his grandmother and great-grandmother, two important role models in his life. In one corner of the room, Max demonstrates what he calls the Great-Granny Booster Step, a wooden step with a handle, which his great-grandmother used to get into the family's minivan. He also expl... posted on Mar 18, 4609 reads

An Angel in Queens
Every day, homeless, hungry unemployed men gather under the elevated 7 train in Jackson Heights, Queens. At around 9:30 each night, relief comes in the form of Jorge Munoz's white pickup truck, filled with hot food, coffee and hot chocolate. For many, this is their only hot meal of the day; for some, it's the first food they've eaten since last night. For more than four years, Munoz and his fam... posted on Mar 21, 3037 reads

Stir Your World
Write. Play. Draw. Sing You Can Do Something to STIR yourself, your friends and your world. Let it never be said that I was silent when they needed me. That's the spirit of this video, that uses excerpts of speeches from Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and more to invite us all to arise, awake and act.... posted on Mar 26, 4149 reads

Aimee Mullins' Twelve Pairs of Legs
A record-breaker at the Paralympic Games in 1996, Aimee Mullins has built a career as a model, actor and activist for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics. In this video from TED, Mullins talks about her prosthetic legs -- she's got a dozen amazing pairs -- and the superpowers they grant her: speed, beauty, an extra 6 inches of height ... Quite simply, she redefines what the body c... posted on Apr 4, 5599 reads

The Art of Being A Good Neighbor
Eve Birch used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, a mortgage, cable, credit, warranties and success. One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart, leaving her homeless with her truck and $56. She found an abandoned shack to fix up and call home. As she rebuilt her life, she also began learning the art of being a neighbor from the locals. Read her first-person ... posted on Apr 14, 5682 reads

Scottish Woman Stuns YouTube World
She's a 47 year old woman, with a learning disability. Susan Boyle has never been married, doesn't have a job, and lives with her cat in a tiny cottage of rural Scotland. But that was last week. This week, she's been watched by 20.2 million people online, Twittered by Demi Moore and Ashton Kucher, praised by Patti LuPone, admired by the bloggerati, snapped up by the paparazzi, swarmed by camera... posted on Apr 19, 8041 reads

Jasmine the Rescue Dog
When Jasmine the abandoned greyhound arrived at a wildlife sanctuary shivering and desperate for food, she needed all the love in the world to nurse her back to full health. Now it appears the kindness and patience shown to her has rubbed off - for the rescue dog has become a surrogate mother for the 50th time. Seven-year-old Jasmine is currently caring for tiny Bramble, an 11-week-old roe deer fa... posted on Apr 21, 87813 reads

Allison the Sea Turtle Gets a Swimsuit
Allison, a green sea turtle with only one flipper, has been going around and around and around for most of her life. But swimming in tight circles is tough for a 5-year-old turtle whose life expectancy is about 150 years. Allison was set straight Wednesday, when researchers outfitted her in a black neoprene suit with a carbon-fiber dorsal fin on the back that allows her to glide gracefully with ot... posted on Apr 27, 6996 reads

The Yoga Supergran
Yoga instructor Bette Calman may be 83, but she's still bending over backwards to spread the benefits of the ancient Indian discipline.The nimble grandmother can really pull some shapes and with her set hair and pearl earrings she looks as glamorous as Greta Garbo in a pink jumpsuit. With 40 years of teaching under her belt, the Australian wonder is living proof that a lifetime's dedication to yog... posted on Apr 28, 24845 reads

The Man Who Dined with His Mugger
In this inspiring audio clip, Julio Diaz tells the story of how he offered his coat to the man who stole his wallet, and of how the two ended up having dinner and a life-changing conversation together. Diaz's unassuming manner and steadfast compassion shine through his words making this a story hard to forget.... posted on May 3, 23291 reads

An Honest Taxi Driver's Bemusement
Santiago Gori, a taxi driver in the coastal city of La Plata, found the money after driving an elderly couple. They only went a short distance but when he dropped them off, they left a bag in the back of his taxi. A few days later he managed to locate his passengers again and he returned the bag. For Argentines used to corruption at all levels of society, this was an extraordinary story. Two young... posted on May 9, 2899 reads

The Gift of A Lifetime in the Mail
Marc Alexander promises his "angels" that he will pay it forward. Alexander, a 23-year-old senior at Kettering University, wanted to finish school and then work full time as president and CEO of the non-profit Youth of Tomorrow, which helps gear at-risk young people toward careers through hands-on experiences. The current credit crisis hindered that goal when Mr. Alexander was rejected seven time... posted on May 12, 6108 reads

Mirakle Couriers: Delivering Possibilities
"I walked into Dhruv Lakra's office in Mumbai, but was not expecting to witness an unusually quiet courier agency room. Seconds later, I saw a rapid -- almost electric -- exchange of messages in sign language between Dhruv and his team. Yes, all the employees in Mirakle Couriers are deaf or have only partial hearing. Questions race in my head, and so does curiosity. The imagined boundaries of core... posted on May 14, 4821 reads

Goleman on Ecological Intelligence
"There's a new kind of math for the environmentally concerned, one that answers those everyday eco-conundrums like, Which is better: a reusable stainless steel water bottle, or those throwaway plastic ones? The answers come from life cycle assessment (or LCA), the method used by industrial ecologists -- a discipline that blends industrial engineering and chemistry with environmental science and bi... posted on May 31, 4417 reads

The Altruism of Economics
"Layoffs were needed and among the casualties were six firefighters, including, most regrettably, a young man who'd recently rescued several children from a burning apartment building. The job cuts were due to go into effect the first week of January. But then something remarkable happened. The men and women of the Yonkers Fire Department offered to work days free for six months so their colleague... posted on Jul 18, 4665 reads

The Blue Sweater
If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there, the Cheshire Cat tells Alice when she asks for directions in Wonderland. But what if Alice had known exactly where she wanted to end up, and just didn't know which road would get her there? That is the challenge that entrepreneurs with a social mission face every day. In her autobiography, The Blue Sweater, Acumen Fund founder and... posted on Jun 29, 3028 reads

The Sand Dancer
As the morning tide recedes at a beach near Christchurch, New Zealand, Peter Donnelly arrives to go to work. Peter the Sand Dancer, with a simple stick and a rake (and a not-so-simple gift of vision), paints elaborate works of art in the sand while hundreds watch in awe and appreciation.... posted on Jun 4, 8477 reads

Rescued Dog Pays It Forward
A dog rescued in March at Blewett Pass, has now become a rescue dog. Dozens of people tried to rescue the black Lab this winter after he was seen huddling in the snow at the top of Blewett Pass for a week. Wary of strangers, the dog, named Blewett, accepted food and was finally adopted into a home. On Monday the canine survivor returned the favor and helped rescue another imperiled black Lab. Jay ... posted on Jun 6, 4019 reads

A Hippocratic Oath for Managers
On June 3rd an unusual oath was taken by more than 400 students graduating from Harvard Business School. At an unofficial ceremony the day before they received their MBAs, the students promised they would, among other things, "serve the greater good", "act with the utmost integrity" and guard against "decisions and behaviour that advance my own narrow ambitions, but harm the enterprise and the soc... posted on Jun 8, 4501 reads

Neighbor, Can You Spare A Plum?
A year and a half ago Asiya Wadud began organizing a little neighborhood fruit exchange called Forage Oakland. It works simply. A woman with a yard full of lemon trees, say, can share her bounty in exchange for a paper bag full of someone else's persimmons when they come into season. So far, 200 people have signed up. All over the country, the underground fruit economy is growing. At new Web sites... posted on Jun 10, 2125 reads

An Orchestra Making A Difference
33 years ago, Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu gathered 11 students in a parking garage in Caracas, Venezuela and taught them to play music. Over the last three decades, Dr. Abreu's organization, "El Sistema" or "The System" has grown considerably and now teaches music to 300,000 of Venezuela's poorest children. This inspiring video shows the power of Dr. Abreu's vision and the incredible change that ensemb... posted on Jun 11, 3599 reads

What Mowing the Lawn Can Teach
"As I surveyed the front lawn, I realized, to my surprise, that it really did look better with a diagonal cut. If left to my own devices, I would have mowed the lawn in an ever-decreasing spiral starting with the outside edges. That's the way I'd seen others mow their lawns. It would have been more efficient, perhaps. But it would not have been pleasing to the eye, and it would not have showed the... posted on Jun 18, 3787 reads

15-year-old Social Entrepreneur-Inventor
At the tender age of 9, Javier Fernandez-Han found his calling: inventing to help the world's poor meet their basic needs sustainably. Several years of research and design have led to an innovative solution: The VERSATILE System -- a mashup of new and adapted technology -- is driven by Algae, the little organism that could. For his work, Javier, 15, won the top prize in this year's Invent Your W... posted on Jun 20, 6118 reads

31 Ways to Jumpstart Local Economy
YES Magazine shares a list of 31 ways to jumpstart your local economy, make it with less, share more, and put people and the planet first. Ideas are categorized by 'at home', 'with friends' and 'in your community': Rent out a room in your home; Shorten the supply chain; Dip your toe in the barter economy; Pool funds with a group of friends for home repairs, greening projects, or emergencies; Use p... posted on Jun 17, 5872 reads

Video Games vs. The Aging Brain
In his twenties, Mike Merzenich dreamed of mapping the neurobiology of the soul. "I was interested in the genesis of the self," he says. Four decades later, he has scaled back his ambitions. Now a graying 64, he hopes merely to reverse the toll of aging on the brain and cure schizophrenia. Without surgery or drugs. Merzenich, a neuroscience professor at the University of California at San Francisc... posted on Jun 30, 4713 reads

Trickle-down Eggersnomics
Halfway through our interview, Dave Eggers jumps up from the sofa, flips open his laptop, which is buried under a pile of magazines and newspapers, and retrieves an email from Valentino Achak Deng, the Sudanese refugee whose harrowing experiences during his country's civil war and bizarre entry into the U.S. were chronicled by Eggers in What Is the What. The proceeds from that book, a finalist for... posted on Jul 5, 2246 reads