Each year The Business Book Awards celebrates the work of authors who have shared their industry or market knowledge, experience and expertise on how to run a successful business alongside understanding what makes people tick and creating a thriving culture. This year the People, Culture and Management category has expanded on the former HR books class and The People Space asked founder Lucy McCarraher for a short outline of those that have made it onto the shortlist.
1.Connecting with Clients: For stronger, more rewarding, and longer-lasting client relationships by Paul Cowan
New ideas from the world's finest relationship gurus are included in Connecting with Clients. Over 500,000 pieces of client feedback from around the world have been analysed to provide insights. An adman, organisational change agent, couples' counsellor and co-founder of The Client Relationship Consultancy offers advice and ideas. This book teaches you how to evaluate client relationships and diagnose issues, as well as recognise your role in a problem, obtain useful and clear feedback, understand, relate to, and communicate with clients, manage yourself and your team members and get the best from your clients.
2. Dark Social: Understanding the darker side of work, personality, and social media by Ian MacRae
Dark Social is an accessible and applicable guide to the dangers of social media and the steps businesses may take to avoid unpleasant outcomes as a result of social media activity. Despite these dangers social media should not be written off; it has become an integral aspect of business literacy and is now a necessary component of any successful marketing and public relations strategy. This book is a current and insightful look into the darker side of social networking, drawing on colourful case studies and organisational psychology.
3. How Boards Work: And how they can work better in a chaotic world by Dambisa Moyo
Dambisa Moyo, a prize winning economist, veteran board director and bestselling book, presents an insider's view of corporate boards as they navigate the turmoil of our times in How Boards Work. Moyo lays out what boards actually do and how they must change to survive the difficulties of the future years, based on her decade of experience serving on corporate boards. Corporations require boards of directors that are more transparent, competent, diverse and deeply involved in determining the strategic direction of the businesses they govern.
4. How to Fix Meetings: Meet less, focus on outcomes, and get stuff done by Graham Allcott and Hayley Watts
In How to Fix Meetings, productivity experts Graham Allcott and Hayley Watts offer realistic and practical advice on how to cut down on the amount of time you spend in meetings, ensuring that the ones you do attend are actual opportunities to collaborate and get things done. By reading this book you will learn how to hold and attend meetings that focus on the outcome; master the 40-20-40 Continuum, which ensures that only 20% of your attention is spent on the meeting itself and the rest on preparation and follow-up; and recognise when it's necessary to say you won't be attending - and how to do so assertively.
5. The Ministry of Common Sense: How to eliminate bureaucratic red tape, bad excuses, and corporate bullshit by Martin Lindstrom
Martin Lindstrom, a New York Times best-selling book, weaves together countless real-life examples of corporate common sense gone wrong with his own creative approach for restoring logic – and sanity – to the firms and people who most need it. The Ministry of Common Sense is a must-read for today's executives, managers, and office workers.
6. The Performance Management Playbook: 15 must-have conversations to motivate and manage your people by Hedda Bird
This book makes it easy to dip in and develop great performance conversations specific to the challenges you face, with 15 conversation guides to improve your confidence in managing performance, numerous activities to make you and your team less stressed, happier and more productive, as well as toolkits to help you improve performance now, no matter what appraisal process your organisation has in place. You will learn from 25 real-life examples ranging from global to small organisations, from 100 to over a million employees, and from industries as diverse as financial services, transportation, technology, central and local government, television production, mining, healthcare and construction.
7. Teams For Our Time: Redefining teams for performance in a new era by Judith Cantrell
This is a must-read for everyone who works in a group setting. With the images and colour-coded chapters, the content is entertaining and visually appealing. The book addresses the issues that team leaders confront in building a productive and safe environment for their teams, among other things. There is a substantial amount of material about dealing with this in an internet setting. Practical guidance, valuable tools, exercises and case studies are included in Teams for Our Time, which may be used in any team context. The ideal resource for both team leaders and team members.
8. Transformational Culture: Develop a people-centred organisation for improved performance by David Liddle
This book delivers eight transformative enablers to bring individual, team and corporate success, with a prologue by Dave Ulrich and expert analysis of the benefits of a people-focused and values-led organisation. There's also advice on how to deal with toxic cultures and behaviours, move the focus from retributive to restorative justice, and create compassionate and humane HR and management systems. The book provides HR professionals and business executives with practical advice on how to rebuild their culture and integrate a unique, practical framework to help with the settlement of workplace challenges, complaints and conflicts.
Lucy McCarraher, pictured below, is founder of The Business Book Awards. The winners of this year's awards, in partnership with the Pathway Group, will be announced at a live event in London on 16 May. Find out more about all the shortlisted titles by visiting www.businessbookawards.co.uk.
