One of my favorite books of 2008 is Saving the World at Work by Tim Sanders.  You may recognize the name from his prior titles, Love Is the Killer Ap and The Likeability Factor, or from his tenure as Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo.  There are quite a few great books out there that argue the case for sustainability and triple bottom line methodology, but very few that actually lay out a plan of action for transforming an organization to follow these philosophies.

It’s a meticulously researched, yet readable work full of references to what I like best - real-life implementation and success stories.  Business theory without precedent isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, let alone your time to read it.

The book is essentially divided into three sections: (i) the history of and case for the ‘Responsibility Revolution’ in business, (ii) the  ‘Six Laws of the Saver Soldier’ that serve as an operating system to drive action and (iii) the ‘Practice of Being Good’, a day-to-day guide for making a difference.

It’s this final section that I feel makes this book so great.  While there’s no way to lay out a life-long guide for a reader to follow, the ‘Practice of Being Good’ provides a simple and thought-provoking series of steps toward making a significant difference in your company’s business practices.  Think of it as a primer on social responsibility in business.

Finally, there is an online community at SavingTheWorld.net that serves as a companion to the book, enabling people to network and share their ideas and practices on extending the topics in the book to the real world.

If you’re not sold, here is a video link to the author telling one of the most compelling real-life examples in the book.  I’ve heard it in person and it’s pretty powerful.

Have you read the book?  Please share your thoughts.