Fifteen of the UK’s best management authors are now one step closer to winning the coveted title of Management Book of the Year, having made it on to the competition shortlist.
The CMI Management Book of the Year competition, launched by the CMI (Chartered Management Institute) in association with the British Library, aims to uncover the UK’s best books on management and leadership and raise the profile of the great management writing published or distributed in the UK. The shortlisted books are those that, in the opinion of the panel of expert competition judges, will help transform the working practices of managers and help to raise awareness of how management theories and thinking can be better applied in practice.
With £5,000 at stake for the winning author, the shortlisted books, which include John Adair’s Leadership of Mohammad and Richard Donkin’s The Future of Work, will now undergo an intense review process, where expert judges will whittle down the entries to find the UK’s best management text. One winner will be chosen in each of the three categories – ‘Practical Manager’, ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Digital Management Book’ – before the overall winner is picked from the three.
The first competition of its kind, Management Book of the Year was created in response to shocking research that revealed that 85 per cent of employees would rather seek help elsewhere than turn to their managers when they need guidance at work. Despite this, just five per cent of these people are turning to management books when they have work issues, suggesting that managers are struggling to find useful, practical texts.
The research also revealed that surprisingly, when it comes to topic choice, more people would like to read about how to achieve a good work/life balance (40 per cent) than how to get a pay rise (30 per cent). In addition, 31 per cent are interested in advice on how to manage people, while just 19 per cent would like tips on securing a promotion.
Ray Davis, a professional management consultant and competition judge said: “As we live in an increasingly technologically advanced age, managers are often surprised by the idea that you can use books as a development tool. In my view, well written management texts should play a key part in all managers’ training and development strategies. I want UK managers to see that books are an absolutely phenomenal resource that can help them develop their skills and learn new ones. For this reason, books will always have currency in the modern business world. The Management Book of the Year competition is helping to raise awareness of some of the great management writing and thought leadership that exists, and helping to bring it to a wider audience.”
The winning book will be announced on 25 January 2011.
The books that have made it onto the shortlist are as follows:
Practical Manager category:
Leadership of Mohammad by John Adair
ReWork: change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Managing by Henry Mitzberg
The Intuitive Mind by Eugene Sadler-Smith
The World’s Business Cultures and how to unlock them by Barry Tomalin and Mike Nicks
Innovation & Entrepreneurship category:
Glimmer: How design can transform your business by Warren Berger
Brilliant Business Creativity by Richard Hall
rEvolution: How to thrive in crazy times by Bill Lucas
Supercorp by Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Design-Driven Innovation by Roberto Verganti
Digital Management Book category:
The Future of Work by Richard Donkin
The Leadership Illusion by T. Hall and K. Janman
Fast Track to Success: project management ebook by Patrick Harper-Smith
How to lead by Jo Owen
Meet the new boss by Philip Whitely
