It was announced Friday that the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award has been awarded to Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty.
Subjects on the short list this year included energy security, urban development, global poverty and, of course, the continuing financial crisis—the topic that captured the judges’ attention in 2009 and 2010. This year they chose the work of two social scientists at MIT, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, who have tackled the longstanding and seemingly intractable problem of global poverty.
It is clear this award celebrates books with a global outlook that are working toward social justice and/or a deeper understanding of economics and the policies that shape our economies. The more I work with business books, the more I develop a deep respect not only for those that seek to effect change on this broad scale, but those that deal with business life on a small scale, in a practical way where individuals directly feel it—improving leadership approaches, company culture, business expansions, workplace relations, career growth, etc., whether used by CEOs, managers, or those just starting out.
Are there any awards for such practical books? As it turns out, there are several. Here are a few (prestige may vary):
The Axiom Book Awards
From their website: “The Axiom Business Book Awards celebrate excellence in business book writing and publishing… The goal of the awards is to celebrate the innovative, intelligent, and creative aspects of the books that make us think, see, and work differently every day. Business people are always looking for new ideas and solutions to their problems, and business book authors and publishers fill a niche with their informative and innovative books. The Axiom Awards offer no global boundaries, giving participants from every continent the opportunity to earn further recognition for their English-language titles.”
Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in 21 business categories: general business, economics, career, sales, leadership, networking, business ethics, operations management/lean/continuous improvement, human resources/employee training, entrepreneurship/small business, philanthropy/charity/nonprofit, international business/globalization, personal finance/retirement planning/investing, business technology, women/minorities in business, success/motivation/coaching, advertising/marketing/PR/event planning, corporate history/milestone, business reference, memoir/biography, and business fable.
The Small Business Book Awards
http://bookawards.smallbiztrends.com/
From the website: “The Small Business Book Awards celebrate the best books that small business people and entrepreneurs should read.” The top ten overall winners are announced, as well as top three winners in each of six categories: economics, human resources, entrepreneurship, social media, marketing, management.
800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards
http://800ceoread.com/page/show/book_award_winners
From the website: “Thousands of business books are published each year, each with the potential to promote change and enlighten the way people think about business. We began recognizing these efforts in 2007 with the 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards, highlighting the best works in a number of categories. Each book is judged on the originality and applicability of its ideas and the quality of its content.”
National Business Book Award (Canada)
From the website: “Now in its 26th year, the National Business Book Award celebrates Canadian business-related writing, published in Canada, in English or French.” Accepted themes include business management, business history, business biography, or economics in (or associated with) Canada.
—
Business book authors, your editors (by which I mean their editorial assistants) are traditionally charged with entering you for these awards. Unsure if you’ve been entered? Ask!