Don't Just Change the Lightbulb, Change the System.
Lead for the Planet: Five Practices for Confronting Climate Change helps students and concerned citizens take on the twin challenges of climate change and energy evolution. Written in an accessible style that converts complex problems into clear practices, Lead for the Planet anchors integrative, interdisciplinary university courses on climate leadership and supplements readings in courses like climate science, entrepreneurship, and business strategy.
The five practices model is a guide for climate leaders across sectors, and it is a benchmark for evaluating university curricula on climate change.
The book has been the subject of seminars and keynotes at universities in the US, Canada, and Europe, and the United Nations PRME Working Group on Climate Change. It was longlisted for Management Book of the Year 2021 by the Chartered Management Institute, the UK's 143,000 plus membership community for "both today's leaders and the next generation."
In 2021 the author received the Teaching Award of the Organizations and the Natural Environment Division of the Academy of Management. She also contributed to the team that won the Best Professional Development Workshop Award of the Management Education Development Division of the Academy of Management, 2021: "Preparing the Manager for Climate Change: From Awareness to Action, " with Loren Albareda, Florian Kapmeier, Jennifer Leigh, and Petra Molthan-Hill.
Reviews
"The climate movement is not leader-less, but leader-full – and increasingly the leadership is coming from frontline and Indigenous communities. It's very good to have the latest social science research brought to bear as well, and this book supplies it! We need all the good thinking we can get if we're going to make progress fast."
Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
"The book takes the reader by the hand and clears the way through the thorny and political field of climate change with grace and intelligence. With simple and clear language, the book confronts what is seen as a complex and overwhelming problem. The beauty of the book is making strong climate actions obvious by unpacking five practices – seek the truth, evaluate the risk, weight the decision, take a leadership role, and act collectively – that after Rae André's clarifications are no-brainers. The great achievement of the book is making it so obvious and clear to act on climate change, and the message is clear: only collective informed decisions can save us now. It is a tiresome trope, but I write it anyway: this book, really, should be obligatory reading for every high-school and university student. Honestly, human civilization depends on it."
Daniel Nyberg, Professor of Management, Newcastle Business School, co-author of Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-Destruction.
"A great climate change primer for undergraduate or early graduate level and for those who would like a good overview of the climate change issues...This reviewer is particularly impressed on the chapter on defining the 'business of business' where she discussed for-profit business decision-making and motivations."
Richard Smardon, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences (2021).
"While the current climate movement leadership deserves thanks, the results it has achieved have been paltry compared to the scope of action needed. A new generation of leaders is required that is more numerous, informed, courageous, and skilled. Lead for the Planet is an indispensable guide for anyone hoping to join those ranks. After deftly summarizing current energy and climate change issues and risks, André explores relevant strategies, tactics, political realities, and business interests. For anyone seeking a career advancing the goal of sustainability, this book is essential reading."
Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, author of The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality.
"You can pick up any number of books on the scientific problem of climate change and the economic or technological solutions, but what we need most right now is leadership. That is what this book is about: an accessible dive into social science for the much-needed tools to guide our society, our organizations, and ourselves towards a bold and 'strong' approach to sustainability. Pick up this book and play your role in helping 'Team Humanity' step up to save the planet."
Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan, author of How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate.
"Rae Andre's exciting new book provides leaders with five vital practices for bringing about a world in which our grandchildren's children can flourish. Grounded in scientific understanding, systems thinking, integrity, realism, collaboration, and dialogue, these practices are essential to anyone who aspires to lead in a climate-challenged world. The book's numerous examples will be useful for leaders in any sector – business, government, and civil society – and will enhance understanding and decision making for leaders everywhere."
Sandra Waddock, Galligan Chair of Strategy, Carroll School of Management, Boston College, author of Healing the World: Today's Shamans as Difference Makers.
"Climate change is now the greatest challenge facing humanity. Drawing together a broad range of insights from the social and natural sciences, this book will be a valuable resource for all those passionate to develop a sustainable future and challenge the current, catastrophic business-as-usual path."
Christopher Wright, Professor of Organisational Studies, The University of Sydney Business School, co-author of Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-Destruction.
"Drawn from social science research in the fields of change management and leadership, Rae André's five practices offer a road map for individuals to lead the transition through the current climate crisis and energy revolution to save our planet for future generations."
Nancy E. Landrum, Professor, Quinlan School of Business & Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago, co-author of A Primer on Sustainable Business.
"André...skillfully blends the psychology of leadership and influence with a wide array of facts, trends, and positions about the natural environment into five practices that anyone can adopt: crafting a compelling vision for change, rallying others around it, and developing and implementing actionable plans to confront the energy-related issues causing climate change. It's an accessible must-read for any aspiring climate leader."
Jane Schmidt-Wilk, Director of the Center for Management Research, Maharishi International University.