Purposeful

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Be Purposeful

Defining movements

Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room.

-Christine Todd Whitman, paraphrasing a quote attributed to the Dalai Lama

This book is about how ordinary people make extraordinary change. It's not about politicians or CEOs of large companies who are already bestowed with enormous power and responsibility. It's about how your teammates, your neighbors, and you yourself can mobilize the people around you to bring your visions to life. So how does that happen?

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Five minutes after nineteen-year-old Manal Rostom switched seats with her cousin on a bus from Cairo to the Red Sea, the bus blew a tire and swerved into the desert, rolling over three times. Manal was okay, but her cousin, Mohammed, was instantly paralyzed. He died three weeks later. This shook Manal to her core. Her faith helped her cope with her grief and trauma, and though she had been only moderately religious before the accident, the experience strengthened her relationship to Islam. Two years later, although it wasnÕt necessarily expected by her family, Manal decided to wear the hijab, a traditional Muslim head covering. ÒIt was a way to say thank you to God,Ó she told me, Òfor giving me a second chance to live.Ó

Manal wore the hijab for the next fourteen years. While she faced some criticism from Westerners who were either unfamiliar with the hijab or believe it is oppressive to women, she generally felt accepted in Egypt and Kuwait. And then something changed. More and more women she knew stopped wearing the hijab, anti-hijab articles started appearing in the media, and in Dubai, where she lived, Muslim women in hijab faced criticism and were not allowed into some public spaces. Manal didn't judge others negatively for choosing not to wear the hijab, but she felt that for herself and many other women, wearing the hijab provided a sense of connection to their faith. "I

Jennifer Dulski is the head of Groups and Community at Facebook. She has more than 15 years of experience at successful startups and big-brand internet companies, including as a business unit leader at Yahoo! and as CEO of The Dealmap, which was acquired by Google in 2011. She was most recently president and COO of Change.org. Dulski writes about leadership, management and entrepreneurship for LinkedIn Influencers, Fortune , Huffington Post, and other media outlets.

"An inspiring call to arms for everyone who wants to change the world." -Arianna Huffington

"Yes! Yes! Yes! If we want to live in a world in which each of us can wake up inspired, feel safe at work and return home fulfilled at the end of the day, then we need more books like this one! Dulski discovered firsthand what it takes to move from being a manager of people to becoming a leader of movements. Now the rest of us can learn what she learned and join the movement. I'm in . . . the question is: are you?" -Simon Sinek, optimist and author of Start with Why, Leaders Eat Last, and Together Is Better

"Drawing on her experiences as a key leader at Change.org and Facebook, Jennifer Dulski shows aspiring organizers what they need to do to start movements that create massive positive impacts. For anyone who wants to change the world, this is crucial reading." -Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and coauthor of The Alliance and The Startup of You

"Purposeful teaches readers how to bridge the gap between a great idea and real impact, helping you learn how to lead world-changing movements yourself." -Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com and author of Delivering Happiness

"Jennifer provides a fresh take on leadership, combining the best techniques from business and social change to help you transform your passion into a movement. She shows how all of us can create positive change in the world and make our lives purposeful." -Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org

"Having worked with Jennifer for a number of years, I had the opportunity to see her evolve and develop a leadership style that always put the team first, unified them around a clear and inspiring sense of purpose, and delivered results. In Purposeful, she shares her approach, as well as the stories of effective leaders who rally others around a common purpose to create meaningful change." -Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn

"Exceptionally well written, impressively informative, well organized and