Recognizing and Promoting the World's Best Business Titles

2021 AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARD MEDALISTS

Jenkins Group is proud to present the medalists in the 2021 Axiom Business Book Awards, honoring this year's best business books, their authors, and publishers.

For the past 14 years, the Axiom Business Book Awards have brought increased recognition to exemplary business books and their creators, with the understanding that business people are an information-hungry segment of the population, eager to learn about great new books that will help them improve their careers and businesses. Especially in this time of disruption and uncertainly, we all need the inspiration and knowledge these books offer to keep us grounded and moving forward toward a more successful future. If the books listed below are any indication, we feel confident about better things ahead! 

Congratulations to all the medalists in the 2021 Axiom Business Book Awards!

 

1. Business Theory

GOLD: Strategy = Execution: Improve, Renew and Innovate Faster in the Digital Age, by Jacques Pijl (Management Impact)

SILVER: Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We Can Do About It, by Erin L. Kelly and Phyllis Moen (Princeton University Press)

BRONZE: The Interaction Field: The Revolutionary New Way to Create Shared Value for Businesses, Customers, and Society, by Erich Joachimsthaler (PublicAffairs)


2. Business Commentary

GOLD (tie): Undercurrents: Channeling Outrage To Spark Practical Activism, by Steve Davis (Wiley)

Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives, by Philip N. Howard (Yale University Press)

SILVER: Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them, by Gary Hamel & Michele Zanini (Harvard Business Review Press)

BRONZE: Nothing is Too Big To Fail: How the Last Financial Crisis Informs Today, by Kerry Killinger and Linda Killinger (RosettaBooks)


3. Economics

GOLD: Elevated Economics: How Conscious Consumers Will Fuel the Future of Business, by Richard Steel (Fast Company Press)

SILVER (tie): The Case for Climate Capitalism: Economic Solutions for a Planet in Crisis, by Tom Rand (ECW Press)

The Business Reinvention of Japan: How To Make Sense of the New Japan and Why it Matters, by Ulrike Schaede (Stanford Business Books)

BRONZE: The Political Economy of Collective Action Inequality, and Development, by William Ferguson (Stanford University Press)


4. Career (job search, career advancement)

GOLD (tie): Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention, by Patricia Heaton (Simon & Schuster)

Change Maker: Turn Your Passion for Health and Fitness into a Powerful Purpose and a Wildly Successful Career, by John Berardi, PhD (BenBella Books)

SILVER: The Art of Being Indispensable at Work: Win Influence, Beat Overcommitment, and Get the Right Things Done, by Bruce Tulgan (Harvard Business Review Press)

BRONZE: Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles to Your Post-Military Career, by Matthew J. Louis (Harper Collins Leadership)



5. Sales (sales skills, negotiating, closing)

GOLD: Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly, by Mori Taheripour (Avery)

SILVER (tie): Wonder Leads: Remarkable Lead Generation for Positive Small Business, by Dave Holloway (Jolly Funnel Books)

Never Say Sell: How the World’s Best Consulting and Professional Services Firms Expand Client Relationships, by Tom McMakin and Jacob Parks (Wiley)

BRONZE: The Visual Sale: How to Use Video to Explode Sales, Drive Marketing, and Grow Your Business in a Virtual World, by Marcus Sheridan and Tyler Lessard (Ideapress Publishing)


6. Leadership

GOLD (tie): Lead from the Future: How to Turn Visionary Thinking Into Breakthrough Growth, by Mark W. Johnson and Josh Suskewicz (Harvard Business Review Press)

Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: the 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team, by Scott Miller with Todd Davis and Victoria Roos Olsson (Simon & Schuster)

SILVER (tie): How To Lead: Wisdom from the World’s Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers, by David M. Rubenstein (Simon & Schuster)

Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You, by Frances Frei & Anne Morriss (Harvard Business Review Press)

BRONZE (tie): Sooner Safer Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility, by Jonathan Smart with Zsolt Berend, Myles Ogilvie and Simon Rohrer (IT Revolution)

Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People, by Sherry Stuart Deutschmann (An Inc. Original)


7. Networking (social media, communication skills, etc.)

GOLD: Building Brand Communities: How Organizations Succeed by Creating Belonging, by Carrie Melissa Jones and Charles H. Vogl (Berrett-Koehler Publishers)

SILVER: The Power of Being Divisive: Understanding Negative Social Evaluations, by Thomas J. Roulet (Stanford Business Books)

BRONZE: The First Minute: How to Start Conversations That Get Results, by Chris Fenning (Alignment Group)


8. Business Ethics

GOLD: Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, by Christopher Marquis (Yale University Press)

SILVER (tie):The Dignity Doctrine: Rational Relations in an Irrational World, by Mark C. Coleman (SelectBooks)

The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations are Bad for Democracy, by Joel Bakan (Penguin Canada)

BRONZE: Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit, by Alex Edmans (Cambridge University Press)


9. Business Intelligence / Innovation

Gold: The Catalyst: How To Change Anyone's Mind, by Jonah Berger (Simon & Schuster)

Silver: Designing Experiences, by J. Robert Rossman and Mathew D. Duerden (Columbia Business School Publishing)

Bronze (tie): The Innovators's Spirit: Discover the Mindset to Pursue the Impossible, by Chuck Swoboda (Fast Company Press)

Inside Your Customer's Imagination: 5 Secrets for Creating Breakthrough Products, Services, and Solutions, by Chip R. Bell (Berrett-Koehler Publishers)

                                         


 9a. Business Disruption / Reinvention

GOLD: Create the Future + the Innovation Handbook: Tactics for Disruptive Thinking, by Jeremy Gutsche (Fast Company Press)

SILVER: Fast Times: How Digital Winners Set Direction, Learn, and Adapt, by Arun Arora, Peter Dahlstrom, Klemens Hjartar, and Florian Wunderlich (Amazon Publishing)

BRONZE: How To Thrive in Chaos: The Chief Reinvention Officer Handbook, by Nadya Zhexembayeva (Ideapress Publishing)

                                         


10. Human Resources / Employee Training

GOLD: Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace, by David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson (Harvard Business Review Press)

SILVER (tie): Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap, by Deanna Mulligan with Greg Shaw (Columbia Business School Publishing)

High-Tech High-Touch Recruiting: How To Attract and Retain the Best Talent by Improving the Candidate Experience, by Barbara Bruno (Kogan Page)

BRONZE: Flip-Flops & Microwaved Fish: Navigating the Dos and Don’ts of Workplace Culture, by Peter Yawitz (Greenleaf Book Group Press)


11. Entrepreneurship / Small Business

GOLD: The Money Hackers: How a Group of Misfits Took On Wall Street and Changed Finance Forever, by Daniel P. Simon (HarperCollins Leadership)

SILVER (tie): The Soul Sourced Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Success Plan for the Highly Creative, Secretly Sensitive and Wildly Ambitious, by Christine Kane (BenBella Books)

12 Months to $1 Million: How to Pick a Winning Product, Build a Real Business, and Become a Seven-Figure Entrepreneur, by Ryan Daniel Moran (BenBella Books)

BRONZE: Supermaker: Crafting Business on Your Own Terms, by Jamie Schmidt (Chronicle Prism)


12. Philanthropy / Nonprofit / Sustainability

GOLD: Sunny Days: The Children’s Television Revolution That Changed America, by David Kamp (Simon & Schuster)

SILVER: Family Philanthropy Navigator: The Inspirational Guide for Philanthropic Families on Their Giving Journey, by Peter Vogel, Etienne Eichenberger, and Malgorzata Kurak (IMD)

BRONZE: Brands on a Mission: How to Achieve Social Impact and Business Growth Through Purpose, by Myriam Sidibe (Routledge)


13. International Business / Globalization

GOLD: Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs from Delhi to Detroit Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley, by Alexandre Lazarow (Harvard Business Review Press)

SILVER: Powering Prosperity: A Citizen’s Guide to Shaping the 21st Century, by Indranil Ghosh (Bombadier Books)

BRONZE: The Accidental Business Nomad: A Survival Guide for Working Across a Shrinking Planet, by Kyle D. Hegarty (Nicholas Brealey Publlshing)
 


14. Personal Finance / Retirement Planning / Investing

GOLD: The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness, by Morgan Housel (Harriman House)

SILVER: Intrinsic: Using LEAPS to Retire Early, by Mike Yuen (Pew Pew Press)

BRONZE: Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation, by Brian M Nelson (Valuentum Securities)
 


15. Business Technology

GOLD: The Future is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives, by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler (Simon & Schuster)

SILVER The Technologized Investor: Innovation through Reorientation, by Ashby H.B. Monk and Dane Rook (Stanford Business Books)

BRONZE (tie): The Amazon Management System: The Ultimate Digital Business Engine That Creates Extraordinary Value for Both Customers and Shareholders, by Ram Charan and Julia Yang (Ideapress Publishing)

No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, by Sarah Frier (Simon & Schuster)


15a. Artificial Intelligence / Robotics / Algorithms

GOLD (tie): Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World, by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani (Harvard Business Review Press)

T-Minus AI: Humanity’s Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power, by Michael Kanaan (BenBella Books)

SILVER: The AI-Powered Enterprise: Harness the Power of Ontologies to Make Your Business Smarter Faster, and More Profitable, by Seth Earley (LifeTree Media)

BRONZE: Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car, by Alex Davies (Simon & Schuster)


16. Women / Minorities in Business

GOLD (tie): Launching While Female: Smashing the System that Holds Women Entrepreneurs Back, by Susanne Althoff (Beacon Press)

Staying in the Game: The Playbook for Beating Workplace Sexual Harassment, by Adrienne Lawrence (Tarcher Perigee)

SILVER: Crunch Time: How Married Couples Confront Unemployment, by Aliya Hamid Rao (University of California Press)

BRONZE: The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience & Leadership in the Most Male-Dominant Organization in the World, by Shannon Huffman Polson (Harvard Business Review Press)


17. Success / Motivation / Coaching

GOLD: Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage, by Laura Huang (Portfolio Penguin)

SILVER: The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck, by Christian Busch, PhD (Riverhead Books)

BRONZE: Exceptional: Build Your Personal Highlight Reel and Unlock Your Potential, by Daniel M. Cable (Chronicle Prism)


18. Advertising / Marketing / PR / Event Planning

GOLD: The Context Marketing Revolution: How to Motivate Buyers in the Age of Infinite Media, by Matthew Sweezey (Harvard Business Review Press)

SILVER: Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for the Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies, by Edward Segal (Nicholas Brealey Publishing)

BRONZE: The Business of Choice: How Human Instinct Influences Everyone’s Decisions, by Matthew Willcox (Emerald Publishing)


19. Corporate History / Milestone

GOLD: Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the South Korean Giant That Set Out to Beat Apple and Conquer Tech, by Geoffrey Cain (Currency)

SILVER: Dublin Gulch: A History of the Eagle Gold Mine, by Michael Gates (Lost Moose)

BRONZE: Strong Foundations: The Klohn Crippen Berger Story, by Katherine Palmer Gordon (Self-Published)


20. Real Estate

GOLD: The Great American Housing Bubble: What Went Wrong and How We Can Protect Ourselves in the Future, by Adam J. Levitin and Susan M. Wachter (Harvard University Press)

SILVER: Fundamentals of New Jersey Real Estate: Essential Rules, Regulations and Practices to Help You Pass the NJ Real Estate Salesperson and Broker Licensing Exams, by David C. Forward (ReachForward Publishing)

BRONZE: Secrets of Top Selling Agents: Habits, Mindsets, and Tactics of Real Estate's Super Producers, by Joe Sesso (Self-Published)


21. Business Reference (legal, how-to)

GOLD:  Survive & Thrive: Entrepreneurship Frameworks That Work, by Paul Kewene-Hite (Mātanga Hāpai)

SILVER: The Non-Obvious Guide to Working Remotely, by Rohit Bhargava (Ideapress Publishing)

BRONZE: The Really Good Idea Test: Get Evidence. Make Decisions. Move Forward. by Julia Shalet (Pearson)


22. Memoir / Biography

GOLD: Co-Piloting: Luck, Leadership, and Learning That It’s All About Others, by Jim Haslam with John Driver (Forefront Books)

SILVER: Just Another Immigrant’s Son: A Memoir on the Otology Renaissance, by Michael M. Paprella, MD with Nicole Helget (Beaver’s Pond Press)

BRONZE: The Poster Boy: Small Towns, Big Ideas, and the Reality of Becoming an Entrepreneur, by Chad Scott (UTP)


23. Business Fable

GOLD: TIP: A Simple Strategy to Inspire High Performance and Lasting Success, by Dave Gordon (Wiley)

SILVER: The Lean Builder: A Builder’s Guide to Applying Lean Tools in the Field, by Joe Donarumo & Keyan Zandy (Self-Published)

BRONZE: Becoming Tigers: Leading Your Team to Success, by Dianne Crampton (Three Creeks Publishing)