Social Excellence: We Dare You

1756 Words8 Pages
“Social Excellence: We Dare You” By: Matthew Mattson, Jessica Williams, & Josh Orendi Copyright 2011 “The world would be better if…” This opening statement sets the tone of this powerful, challenging and thought-provoking book, as it introduces and expounds upon the idea of the concept of social excellence. This paper will try to retell the information the authors laid out in the pages of this book by summarizing their main arguments and points of emphasis. After that, it will specifically mention the things I liked and disliked about the book and wrap-up by relating this book to the theories and concepts of leadership we have learned within this class. Overview The main idea the authors are trying to get across is the concept of social excellence and how it can be used to change the world. They define social excellence through the following sentence phrases, “Social excellence: a state of perpetual generosity, curiosity, positivity, and openness to limitless possibility. A desire to intentionally connect with others. The ability to engage in deep meaningful conversation. Acting in a responsible and respectable manner, with high expectations of others. Being authentic and living everyday with integrity as the best version of yourself. Being confident and vulnerable. Being fun and compassionate. Being open, kind, and bold. The deepest level of societal participation and contribution”(pg 21). Although it is kind of a long definition, the authors break this down into parts throughout the course of the book. They begin by introducing themselves and the goal they wish to achieve through their writing. They then pose a pre-evaluation for the reader to see where they currently rank themselves in terms of social excellence, followed by a macro and micro view of the concept itself. Woven throughout the pages are real-life stories of individuals who truly live out
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