Andrew Hill, is senior business writer at the Financial Times and consulting editor, Financial Times Live. He is author of Ruskinland (2019), about the enduring influence of Victorian thinker John Ruskin and Leadership in the Headlines, a collection of Andrew’s his columns.
We were quite lucky to be able to corral Andrew to have a conversation with us, and I'd be remiss not to preface this podcast by pointing out that rather than our typical format of diving into one author's ideas, framework and thinking around business trends, in this episode, we get a chance to glean insights multiple books and from his experiencing curating the best business books of the year for the Financial Times.
In this episode, we journey through this year's FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year 2024, getting an "insider look" into the year’s roundup. We also get to explore how the best business book lists has evolved over the years and what this means for the present and future of business.
Andrew’s long tenure made for an interesting conversation into more niche topics, leading even to what John Ruskin—a Victorian Polymath from the 1800s—would have thought of particular trends highlighted in this collection of books in the modern era.
In this podcast, we discuss:
- Has the purpose of the coporation changed? Should we move beyond being purely profit-motivated?
- Whether the relentless pursuit of economic growth is sustainable or even desirable, given environmental and social constraints
- Could tribalism, which is often seen as divisive, be a force for collaboration and innovation and unity?
- How the increase in human longevity may require us to rethink life stages and adopt a 'multi-stage life' model, blending careers, education, and leisure throughout a lifetime
- Andrew's own journey at the Financial Times, and how the Best Business Books list was established and has evolved over time.
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Episode Timeline:
00:00—Highlight from today's episode
01:26—Introducing Andrew + the topic of today’s episode
03:45—If you really know me, you know that...
05:31—What is your definition of strategy?
06:52—History and purpose of the FT Business Book of the Year Awards
08:16— Criteria and process for selecting the books
11:36— Comparing 2024 submissions with previous years and emerging trends
16:20— Discussion of The Corporation in the Twenty-First Century
17:58— Navigating the ESG debate and long-term thinking
21:41—Discussion of Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together
24:32— Andrew Hill highlights Andrew Scott's insights into living and thriving in a longer lifespan
27:48— Discussion of Growth: A Reckoning
31:02— Connecting the themes and a reflection on John Ruskin's perspective
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Additional Resources:
Link to book: Ruskinland
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/andrewtghill
X: https://x.com/andrewtghill
Thank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.
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