The books that stay with us
From self-help to Dr Seuss, our short-story competition sponsors share the books that inspired them.
Rachel Brown, Milford Foundation trustee, and Sustainable Business Network Founder and CEO:
The Lorax is a children’s book written by Dr Seuss and published in 1971. The story is pretty well known and is about the danger of human destruction of the natural environment. The last line has stuck with me for life: ‘‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.’’
Cannibals with Forks, by John Elkington (1997): I met John at a conference around this time and he signed my copy. A very exciting moment for this fangirl. Little did I know I would be working with him a few years later.
Nature Capitalism – The Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken (1999), Hunter and Amory Lovins: This was another big influencer for me. It talks about the next industrial revolution – one that was both environmentally responsible and extremely profitable (for the long term).
Design for The Other 90% by Cynthia E Smith (2007): She is encouraging and recognising the need for designers to design solutions (affordable ones) for 90 per cent of the populations who have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted – which includes access to food, clean water and shelter. This is an inspiring book with some 30 projects which reflect the growing movement among designers, engineers, students and professors, architects, and social entrepreneurs to design low-cost solutions for this other 90 per cent.
Tiaki Hunia, Milford Foundation trustee and Fonterra director inclusion and Ma¯ ori strategy:
Pounamu Pounamu and Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera: I can relate directly to the stories, the characters, the unique Ma¯ ori humour through both and especially the uniting influence and wisdom of the ‘‘nannies’’ throughout the stories. There’s a phrase in Pounamu Pounamu called a ‘‘mako tiko bum’’ which I remember vividly as a child made everyone in our class crack up every time we heard that, and Whale Rider is perhaps the best story ever written from Aotearoa NZ.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: Probably stumbled on this one by accident but an amazing book in terms of different perspectives on determinants of success and the impacts of so many different influences which people often overlook, under-appreciate
or can’t recognise.
Above the Line by Michael Henderson: Am amazing book on delving into ‘‘culture’’ and its origin from the perspective of caring, to understanding the elements of culture and how it impacts successfully on performance personally, professionally and ideally across all elements of our society.
Sarah Norrie, Milford Foundation trustee:
This is a self-help book, Sort your sh*t out by Mike Hutcheson: Usually, any kind of self-help book thrust at me promising glory sends me into a spin of excuses as to why I can’t take the time to read it. BUT my very good friend wrote it and I’m in its credits. Released just recently, Mike takes the reader on a gentle journey of self-reflection and creative discovery.
I think we all, no matter what age, ask ourselves what we want to do when we’ve grown up and this book encourages the possibilities. Over something cold with a slice of lemon, on your favourite lounger, I really would recommend this. Not just because Mike wrote it, but because we can all push creativity in our lives. Ultimately the world might just be
a better place for it if we did. Right now, with all that is going on, it’s actually pretty perfect timing to ‘‘sort your sh*t out’’.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown: This is a book I read for the first time four years ago and have since re-read it two times. It is a non-fiction book about beating the odds told through the intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American west showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant as they competed in rowing. When our daughter joined the sport, one of the parents recommended it to me. I was promised that it would give an insight into the world of rowing so that we could better support her navigation in the sport. This book is so much more than that. Many light moments are interspersed with the strife and drama. My favourite is an incredible adventure the boys had when they took the coach’s launch out on the Hudson River one evening before the national championship Poughkeepsie Regatta. What happened to them then could never happen now. It’s one of the many unforgettable anecdotes. Maybe that’s why I have read it three times.