The 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards, Innovation & Creativity

The 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards have been decided upon, and in the Innovation & Creativity category, Seth Godin's wonderful new book, The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? (published this month by Portfolio along with two companion books—V is for Vulnerable and Whatcha Gonna Do with That Duck?) takes the top prize.

"Entrepreneurship, customer service, invention,
technology, connection, leadership, and a
dozen others. These are the new performing arts,
the valuable visual arts, the essential personal arts."
The Icarus Deception, page 12

The Industrial Age and its factories required quiet productivity and standardization, and the people who worked in those factories were certainly no exception. But the Industrial Age is over. We live in a different time now, which Seth Godin calls "the connection economy." Connections involve people, but they also involve ideas, and as we make connections we create rather than replicate. Whether we're flight attendants, sales people, wait staff, managers, or painters, we can all make connections. We can all make art. The term "creative" often gets applied to a specific type of person. Godin shows us why that is wrong, how each of us can better understand what we are capable of, and what a huge resource of innovation that understanding can offer. Before addressing any challenge, we first must address ourselves. Godin shows us the way.

To see the runners-up, check out our Innovation & Creativity shortlist announced last week.