The 2011 Business Book Awards
Business Book of the Year
Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen | HarperBusiness
Chaos and uncertainty are all around us. The economy is struggling, some have been out of work for years, and entrepreneurs are having a more and more difficult time creating success. Yet despite those things, there are organizations that are extremely successful. Looking at them on the surface, surmising their marketing techniques, management practice, and general strategy does not reveal enough to truly understand the "hows" and "whys" of their success.
Fortunately, ten years after his classic Good to Great, Jim Collins has teamed with with Morten T. Hansen to explain it all. They have spent the last decade digging deep into what makes these companies great and figuring out how other managers and leaders can make similar choices for their own organizations. Their research is revealed in the book, Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All.
It is a book perfectly suited to our times, containing the extensive research and free-thinking Collins is known for, while also being able to impart confidence in the knowledge that, despite the chaos and uncertainty, it is still your choices and not chance that control your fate. The principles, insights, and lessons are presented through a variety of captivating case studies and comparison stories, from deadly vs. successful mountain climbing expeditions to the post-9/11 experience of Southwest Airlines. Survival is a strong theme throughout the book, and some of the details about the practices of these survivors (whom the authors call the “20-mile marchers”) will surprise you.
Where will your company be in five years? Ten years? Will it be at all? These might be hard questions to ask, but can be more easily answered once you have an understanding of the principles in this book.
Category Winner
General Business
The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Yergin | Penguin Press
Category Winner
Leadership
Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen | HarperBusiness
Category Winner
Management
Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers by Jeanne Liedtka & Tim Ogilvie | Columbia Business School Publishing
Category Winner
Entrepreneurship & Small Business
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries | Crown Business
Category Winner
Personal Development
Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields | Portfolio
Category Winner
Innovation & Creativity
Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition by Stephen M. Shapiro | Portfolio
Category Winner