General Manager Sally Haldorson and Dylan Schleicher, Editorial Director of 800-CEO-Read, share interesting trends revealed by this year’s Business Book Awards longlist. Haldorson notes, “Whereas in years past we’ve seen books about how technological innovation is changing the world and shaping our future for the better, this year, perhaps the most optimistic books on our future are those that focus on social entrepreneurship (Getting Beyond Better), narratives of classic industries and bricks-and-mortar business striving to reinvigorate their culture through humanistic management practices (Everybody Matters, We Are Market Basket), and even books about devising new accounting metrics (Six Capitals, Or Can Accountants Save The World?), instead of laudatory accounts of tech companies. Even the tech startup book on the list—Startupland—is about a business that builds customer service tools.” Schleicher observes: “Looking up and down this year’s list, we see a continuing trend of books at the intersection of digital technology and business. And though a few extoll the benefits, more and more begin questioning technology as panacea for business. And it is not just the books that actively question its effect, like The Rise of the Robots, Geek Heresy, and Reclaiming Conversation, but books that remind us that so much of the work left to be done is inherently and entirely human—Unfinished Business,Everybody Matters, Widgets, and Boss Life, among others. There are more books this year about workplace culture, human psychology, action and interaction, our behavior in the marketplace, and how we make a better world and business world together.” Here is the longlist for the General Business, Leadership & Management, Personal Development, and Innovation & Creativity categories. Click here to read the entire article and longlist:
GENERAL BUSINESS
- Cool: How the Brain’s Hidden Quest for Cool Drives Our Economy and Shapes Our World, by Steven Quartz and Anette Asp
- Data-ism: The Revolution Transforming Decision Making, Consumer Behavior, and Almost Everything Else by Steve Lohr
- Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, by Martin Ford
- Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family, by Anne-Marie Slaughter, Random House
- We Are Market Basket: The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved a Beloved Business, by Daniel Korschun and Grant Welker
LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT
- Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia,
- Leadership: Essential Writings by Our Greatest Thinkers, edited by Elizabeth D. Samet
- Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation, by Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor
- The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers, by Gillian Tett
- Widgets: The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As If They’re Real People, by Rodd Wagner
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, by Sherry Turkle
- Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life, by Eric Greitens
- Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts—Becoming the Person You Want to Be, by Marshall Goldsmith
- The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters, by Wes Moore
- Works Well With Others: An Outsider’s Guide to Shaking Hands, Shutting Up, Handling Jerks, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No One Ever Teaches You, by Ross McCammon
INNOVATION & CREATIVITY
- Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life, by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman
- Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology, by Kentaro Toyama
- How to Fly A Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery, by Kevin Ashton
- Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done, by Mick Ebeling
- Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses “No, But” Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration—Lessons from The Second City, by Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton