Mar 27
Business Books don’t work unless you do!
There is more to life than Books, yes, I wouldn’t disagree with that
There is more in doing business than in business books, yes again. Most business books don’t work as it comes down to simply what you do with what you know!
Most business book are bought at a moment when the person is motivated to do something — it’s a recommendation from a colleague or heard or read about the book from somewhere else.
The problem is not with the intention, because it all start with intention, its in the doing. The intention is to read, digest and implement. The reality is that even when the book is read and often these are not, the main message of the book gets lost or left behind. This is often because there is so much there — a lot more than just the key lesson and messages. There are often stories told about the Author to establish credibility and continuously selling the author rather than prioritising and focusing on the ideas and lesson itself.
Secondly and a bit obvious really there is no impact is that it doesn’t get read, often the reader just flicks through the book and may dip into a few paragraphs here and there and then leave it. It doesn’t grip the attention long enough -or its not meant to be read in short bites, so rather than self-development it becomes “shelf” development as we just stick the book on a shelf.
It is this reason; I keep harping on about carefully selecting the books you wish to read and filtering through the noise. As for my own books- the Canny Bites book series, these strive to be short sharp impactful bites of wisdom that I share with you that you can easily dip in and out of.
Moving on, Learning and self-development for me is about learning from peers, webinars, seminars, conferences, LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts, audio books and of course books and there is so much out there — how do you pick what’s right for you now? Hopefully our business book awards can play a key role here.
I am absolutely delighted that our company ThinkFest Ltd organises the Business Book Awards and I am a founding partner. This year has been another record-breaking year with more than 300 books submitted.
The complete range of categories for the Business Book Awards 2022 are:
Start Up/Scale Up — Books that support, encourage, or inspire entrepreneurs how to get their business up and running or onto the next stage.
Sales & Marketing — Books that offer guidance and information around sales and/or marketing in today’s business environment.
People, Culture & Management — Books focused on improving people skills, management and working environments.
Diversity, Inclusion & Equality — Books that promote the importance of diversity, inclusion and equality in business and beyond.
Change & Sustainability — Books that explore how technology, innovation or best practice can improve business or the environment.
Leadership — Books that develop or inspire leadership skills and styles for positive impact.
Business Self-Development — Self-development books that give individuals the practical business skills to become better at what they do.
Work & Life — Self-help books that offer insights and knowledge to help individuals balance their work and home lives.
Wellness & Wellbeing — Books that aim to improve the physical, emotional and mental health of people in business.
Short Business Book — Small format or short-form business books that perfectly present their subjects with brevity and clarity.
Specialist Business Book — Books aimed at a niche readership or specific type or area of business.
Business Journey Book — Books that are biographies, autobiographies and other personal stories that inspire and inform business people (UK and international authors are eligible to enter).
Smart Thinking — Books that introduce new ideas or cast new light on old subjects, challenging and improving the way we think, work and live (UK and international authors are eligible to enter).
International Business Book — Influential business books from around the world (for non-UK authors).
The shortlist for this year has been strong and, in an era, where we have so much choice. The books submitted for the awards have been practical, thought-provoking and in my view enables the reader to better understand the challenges presently faced in this climate and how best to go about solving these challenges and therefore these business book do work as long as you do.
Business Book Awards winners will be announced on the 16th May 2022 in London and we welcome all of you to join us to discover and celebrate which books will be recognised as winners. The event is also a great opportunity to network with business leaders and meet the team behind the awards, along with previous winners & all the finalists.
