“Medalists Explore Change, Chaos and Reinvention”
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our world upside down, changing the way we live, work, shop, dine and seek entertainment. Online shopping, video conferencing, virtual events, and myriad changes to healthcare and sanitation have complicated basic human interaction — could the old-fashioned handshake become obsolete? This is the kind of issue Axiom Award-winning books help us understand — and thereby help us achieve future success.
Jenkins Group is proud to announce the 89 medalists in the 14th annual Axiom Business Book Awards. Chosen from nearly 500 entrants, the gold, silver and bronze medals in 25 categories honor the best business books published during the past year. The winning books epitomize the Axiom Award motto, Success through Knowledge, by offering the latest information to help business people meet the challenges of a fast-changing world.
See the complete results listing online: axiomawards.com/88/award-winners/2021-winners.
Of course, the rate of change during this pandemic year has been astronomical, but the fast pace was already a hot topic in some of the award-winning books:
In the Business Book Parable Category, Central Oregon author and group development expert Dianne Crampton of TIGERS Success Series, demonstrates the mindset transformation of a micromanager to that of a collaborative and “woke” leader.
“In this emotionally engaging novel and business fable, Crampton uses the best traditions of learning by parable to take us on a transformative journey through the jungle of myths, mistakes, and mastery of leadership. Apply the lessons from this engaging novel and you’ll improve your leadership skills for the rest of your life.”
Next,”Forget about the difference between generations, currently mere months can bring a revolution,” say the authors of gold medal-winning The Future is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives (Simon & Schuster). “This means paradigm-shifting, game-changing, nothing-is-ever-the-same-again breakthroughs — such as affordable aerial ridesharing — will not be an occasional affair. They’ll be happening all the time.”
Finally, flying cars! Robots and AI (artificial intelligence) and space flight, too. But most businesses won’t deal with such lofty stuff. How will Joe Normal’s business survive the “the AI Future?” Here’s how:
“Enterprises ought to be customer focused, responsive, and digital. They should deliver to each employee and customer exactly what they need, at the moment they need it. The data and technology to do this are available now,” says Seth Early in his silver medal-winning, The AI-Powered Enterprise (Lifetree).
But what about the massive disruption of the pandemic? What about the businesses that might not survive it? One man’s chaos is another man’s opportunity, according to Jeremy Gutsche, author of gold medalist, Create the Future + The Innovation Handbook (Fast Company Press):
“Chaos of any kind sends ripples through our culture, but it also gives birth to new opportunity. When outdated structures break down, the world becomes open to new ways of thinking. As we enter history’s highest period of change and business disruption, it is clear that we have entered a new period of chaos. During this chaotic period of time, you will witness countless new inventions and ideas that reshape our future.”
The question is — can we, and will we — meet the challenges of this seemingly out-of-control world?
“Change is here, and it is accelerating. Reinvention has become the basic literacy skill of the 21st century,” says Nadya Zhexembayeva in bronze medal-winning, The Chief Reinvention Officer Handbook: How To Thrive in Chaos (Ideapress Publishing). “The trouble is that although we recognize and even anticipate the risks and opportunities that chaos brings, we are not good at adapting to them.”
This year’s Axiom Award winners came from a blend of Big 5 publishers, university presses, and independent and self-publishers of various sizes. Medalists represent 17 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. “Business success demands that leaders keep adjusting and growing,” said Axiom Awards founder Jerrold Jenkins. “This year’s Axiom Award-winning books demonstrate the power of books to inform and to inspire, and help us get through challenging times.”
