
From Ideas to Impact
A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World
Michael Sheldrick(Author)
Wiley (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 28. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-394-36940-9 (ISBN)
Description
***NOW IN PAPERBACK - Featuring an Exclusive New Chapter on Entrepreneurship***
Accelerate your real-world, social impact by driving systemic policy changes
As Co-Founder of Global Citizen-an international education and advocacy organization with the mission to end extreme poverty worldwide-Michael Sheldrick has worked with governments, businesses, foundations, the artist community, and everyday citizens to distribute over $40 billion around the world over the past decade. Now, in From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World, he delivers an inspiring and insightful discussion on how to implement social impact by driving policy change.
This book reveals key characteristics of successful policy entrepreneurs - visionaries bridging the gap between promises and real-world outcomes. They are practical implementers who put impact first, resisting the urge to pursue the instant dopamine boost that comes from simply winning arguments at all costs. They are connectors and networkers who build diverse coalitions and broker win-win solutions to address our current implementation crisis.
An indispensable guide for individual changemakers, philanthropists, corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioners, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) professionals, policymakers, corporate foundations, and higher education students, From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World, features:
An overview of pressing challenges to avoid, including an obsession with winning arguments at the expense of results, demands for unwavering tribal loyalty, and a counterproductive aversion to negotiation.
An eight-step playbook offering tools to master policy entrepreneurship, foster cooperation, build bridges, and drive policy implementation beyond stagnation, conflict, and polarization.
Diverse policy entrepreneurs and examples spanning historical movements like the Transatlantic Slave Trade and FDR's New Deal to contemporary battles for climate justice, coal community transitions, and grassroots gender equality efforts.
At its core, this uplifting book instills hope that change is achievable despite our divisions. It showcases how individuals at all levels pursue systemic policy change through united voices, cooperation, and solidarity. Sheldrick equips readers with the tools to craft impactful narratives that can inspire countless more success stories, reinforcing the idea that we are not prisoners of fate and that actual change begins with us.
Accelerate your real-world, social impact by driving systemic policy changes
As Co-Founder of Global Citizen-an international education and advocacy organization with the mission to end extreme poverty worldwide-Michael Sheldrick has worked with governments, businesses, foundations, the artist community, and everyday citizens to distribute over $40 billion around the world over the past decade. Now, in From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World, he delivers an inspiring and insightful discussion on how to implement social impact by driving policy change.
This book reveals key characteristics of successful policy entrepreneurs - visionaries bridging the gap between promises and real-world outcomes. They are practical implementers who put impact first, resisting the urge to pursue the instant dopamine boost that comes from simply winning arguments at all costs. They are connectors and networkers who build diverse coalitions and broker win-win solutions to address our current implementation crisis.
An indispensable guide for individual changemakers, philanthropists, corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioners, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) professionals, policymakers, corporate foundations, and higher education students, From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World, features:
An overview of pressing challenges to avoid, including an obsession with winning arguments at the expense of results, demands for unwavering tribal loyalty, and a counterproductive aversion to negotiation.
An eight-step playbook offering tools to master policy entrepreneurship, foster cooperation, build bridges, and drive policy implementation beyond stagnation, conflict, and polarization.
Diverse policy entrepreneurs and examples spanning historical movements like the Transatlantic Slave Trade and FDR's New Deal to contemporary battles for climate justice, coal community transitions, and grassroots gender equality efforts.
At its core, this uplifting book instills hope that change is achievable despite our divisions. It showcases how individuals at all levels pursue systemic policy change through united voices, cooperation, and solidarity. Sheldrick equips readers with the tools to craft impactful narratives that can inspire countless more success stories, reinforcing the idea that we are not prisoners of fate and that actual change begins with us.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 149 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
412 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-394-36940-9 (9781394369409)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Michael Sheldrick
From Ideas to Impact
A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World
Book
04/2024
1st Edition
Wiley
€29.00
Shipment within 15-20 days

Michael Sheldrick
From Ideas to Impact
A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World
E-Book
04/2024
1st Edition
Wiley
€15.99
Available for download

Michael Sheldrick
From Ideas to Impact
A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World
E-Book
04/2024
1st Edition
Wiley
€15.99
Available for download
Persons
MICHAEL SHELDRICK is a policy entrepreneur and a Co-Founder of Global Citizen. He leads the organization's campaigns to mobilize support from governments, businesses, and foundations. These initiatives have reached millions of people in over 150 countries and secured over $49 billion in support for local and regional organizations in areas such as healthcare, education, and climate resilience. A sought-after speaker and author on policy advocacy, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, his insights have been featured in leading outlets including Forbes, The Guardian, The Hill, Nikkei and Fairfax Media, and his voice heard on major news networks such as ABC, BBC, CNN, France 34, and Sky News. Michael is an Associate Adjunct Professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
michaelsheldrick.com
X: @micksheldrick
Substack: @michaelsheldrick
michaelsheldrick.com
X: @micksheldrick
Substack: @michaelsheldrick
Content
Preface to the Paperback Edition xvii
Foreword xix
Prologue xxiii
Introduction: Harbingers of Hope 1
Part 1 An Eight- Step Playbook to Master Policy Entrepreneurship 7
Chapter 1 The Visionary: Setting the Foundation for Change 11
Chapter 2 The Diplomat: Catalyzing Impact through Pragmatism 45
Chapter 3 The Implementer: Enforcing Accountability and Follow- Through 65
Part 2 Success Stories of Policy Entrepreneurs 75
Chapter 4 Advancing Access: Equal Education for All 77
Chapter 5 Empowering a Community: Just Transition beyond Coal 101
Chapter 6 Building Bridges: Small and Mighty in a Warming World 127
Chapter 7 The New Rulemakers: How Business Innovators Are Shaping the Future of Markets 153
Conclusion: Being Part of the Solution in a World on Fire 187
Epilogue 205
Author's Note (2025) 207
Acknowledgments 209
Additional Acknowledgements (2025) 215
Annex: Summary: Eight Steps for Policy Entrepreneurship 217
Endnotes 223
Index 273
Foreword xix
Prologue xxiii
Introduction: Harbingers of Hope 1
Part 1 An Eight- Step Playbook to Master Policy Entrepreneurship 7
Chapter 1 The Visionary: Setting the Foundation for Change 11
Chapter 2 The Diplomat: Catalyzing Impact through Pragmatism 45
Chapter 3 The Implementer: Enforcing Accountability and Follow- Through 65
Part 2 Success Stories of Policy Entrepreneurs 75
Chapter 4 Advancing Access: Equal Education for All 77
Chapter 5 Empowering a Community: Just Transition beyond Coal 101
Chapter 6 Building Bridges: Small and Mighty in a Warming World 127
Chapter 7 The New Rulemakers: How Business Innovators Are Shaping the Future of Markets 153
Conclusion: Being Part of the Solution in a World on Fire 187
Epilogue 205
Author's Note (2025) 207
Acknowledgments 209
Additional Acknowledgements (2025) 215
Annex: Summary: Eight Steps for Policy Entrepreneurship 217
Endnotes 223
Index 273