Looking back on the best business books of 2011 not only provides great ideas for reading material but also allows us to view the top news stories and political issues of the year through a business lens.  Several sources published their picks for the best business books of 2011 (see the links for the lists consulted for this article below). The following books were featured in several lists and deserve special recognition.

Poor Economics: A radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty, by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo won the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award.  This award, which began in 2005, seeks to honor "the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues."

Another title included on several of the lists this year was Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters by Richard P. Rumelt. Does your organization have a strategy?  The author argues that most strategies are at best bad, and at worst not even strategies at all.  Rumelt, with a 40-year career in the field of strategy, shows how insight on the truth about your business situation can help your organization develop the good strategy it needs to succeed.

The biography of Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson was another highly-praised business title, and proved to be a very timely one in the wake of Jobs' recent death.  Based on 40 interviews over the span of two years, with Jobs as well as family, friends and colleagues, this book provides an honest look at this technological pioneer.  

Another biography that also topped several business lists was Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.  Though not an immediately obvious business choice, Washington's life provides a portrait of leadership applicable to the boardroom as well as the battlefield.

What is it that makes certain people or brands enchanting?  Former Apple executive Guy Kawasaki explains how in Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions.  Find out how to go beyond engagement with friends, colleagues and customers to create a delightful, deep, long-lasting and voluntary relationship.

How many times each day do you "Google" something?  Steven Levy's In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works and Shapes Our Lives provides a fascinating history of the company so entrenched in our daily lives.

Another brand ubiquitous in our daily lives, whether passing an outlet on our way to work or indulging in one of its multisyllabic products, is portrayed in Onward: How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon.

The lists of top business books also gave us some new vocabulary!  Try Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage and Dirty Dishes by Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson to learn how thinking like an economist can save your marriage.  Explore how Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How To Profit From It by Amy Cortese can revitalize small business and strengthen local economies.  Wonder why you can't stop thinking about the latest smartphone? Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by Martin Lindstrom reveals the psychological methods companies use to get us to part with our hard-earned dollars.

Lists Reviewed:

The 2011 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award was established in 2005 and looks at business in the broader sense.  Past awards tend to highlight books that provide a unique perspective on global financial trends.

strategy + business magazine's Best Business Books 2011 takes into account the wide reach that business plays in our lives, awarding top books in the categories of Ethics and Aspirations, Strategy, Management, Economics, Marketing, Leadership and Technology.

Bloomberg's Top Business Books also show an understanding of the broad category of Business, defining books into the separate categories Crisis Books, General Business, and Economics Titles.

Marketplace from American Public Media asked their regular contributors to select their favorite business title.

OPEN Forum from American Express published their Best Business Books of 2011, compiled from their weekly book review column Guru Review.

Library Journal's Best Books 2011: Business pulls from reviews compiled throughout the year.

Booklist Online's Top 10 Business Books: 2011 reveals the top picks from this much-used book review resource.

NFIB's Best Business Books of 2011 is a list featuring books recommended especially for small business owners.

"Top Drawer" Business Books of 2011 by Bill Bernbach of advertising agency DDB Worldwide, has a decidedly creative focus.

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Steve Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak jump-started the personal computer revolution with the introduction of the Apple II in 1977 and followed that with the creation of the user-friendly Macintosh computer eight years later. When Jobs left Apple in 1985, he bought Pixar Animation Studios from George Lucas. Under Jobs' leadership, the digital film studio won awards with ground-breaking films like "Toy Story."

Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, and his reboot of the company created a digital powerhouse with the introduction of the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

People all over the world are mourning the loss of Steve Jobs. Some are leaving floral tributes, lit candles and other tokens of remembrance outside of Apple stores. Others are using social media sites to express their thoughts about one of the giants of the digital age.

This New York Times article about Steve Jobs tells more about his life and legacy. Biography.com also has an updated article about Steve Jobs.

Titles about Steve Jobs from the Springfield-Greene County Library:

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Written with Jobs' cooperation by a former managing editor of "Time Magazine," this biography is based on over 40 interviews with Jobs himself.




 The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different by Carmine Gallo
The author shares the Apple CEO's most original and effective strategies for sparking true creativity - and real innovation - in any workplace. 




 
 The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation by Jay Elliot
The author shares the lessons based on Jobs' intuitive approach to show how the creative and technological brilliance of iLeadership can be utilized to drive breakthroughs in any organization, irrespective of size.


 
Inside Steve's Brain by Leander Kahney
A tale of two Steves: a perfectionist, charming, charismatic executive but also a man who’s known as an elitist, manipulator, and sociopath, all in search of the dream of providing easy-to-use technology for individuals. 

The Pirates of Silicon Valley by Martyn Burke
A DVD dramatization of the early lives and rivalries of computer pioneers Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

 

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New books on business startups, economics, finance and other business topics are continuously added to the catalog. In September, these business titles and more were added to the catalog.  

ConcreteLoop.com presents Angel's laws of blogging : what you need to know if you want to have a successful and profitable blog / Angel Laws with Carole Moore. Once a beginner like you, Angel Laws, the founder of ConcreteLoop.com, was able to turn her blog into a money-making endeavor that receives thousands of unique hits per day. Offering readers simple, step-by-step lessons on how to turn a blog into a career -- or a way to make some extra cash -- Laws will help and inspire anyone with an interest in this ever-growing field.

The end of growth : adapting to our new economic reality / Richard Heinberg.  Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits. The End of Growth proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits.

Start your own food truck business / Entrepreneur Press and Rich Mintzer. At over a billion dollars, the food industry is evolving, creating new trends and new opportunities for eager entrepreneurs like you. Learn how you can become a part of one of the hottest and most affordable food businesses—mobile food.

Business improv : experiential learning exercises to train employees to handle every situation with success / Val Gee and Sarah Gee.  Based on the science of experiential learning, Business Improv uses improvisation activities from the theater to transform each employee into a great leader. The 75 hands-on activities in this proactive guide help you create an organization filled with people who engage with and “own” their work, generate creative ideas that drive profit, build innovative teams, solve problems effectively, and more.

 

Likeable social media : how to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on facebook (& other social networks) / Dave Kerpen. Likeable Social Media helps you harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing to transform your business. Listen to your customers and prospects. Deliver value, excitement, and surprise. And most important, learn how to truly engage your customers and help them spread the word.

 

2012 Photographer's market - From the back cover: "Millions of successful photographers have trusted Photographer's Market as a resource for growing their businesses. This edition contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date market contacts for working photographers today: magazines, book publishers, greeting card companies, stock agencies, advertising firms, contests and more." 
 

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