Amy Edmonson, Ed Conway, and Siddharth Kara discuss their shortlisted books for the Financial Times' Business Book of the Year award. They cover topics such as AI's risks to humanity, the six commodities shaping our lives, and the different types of failure. The hosts also delve into the judging process and criteria for selecting the best business book of the year.
Amy Edmondson's book 'Right Kind of Wrong' explores the need for clear-headed thinking in distinguishing between failures to celebrate, prevent, and smart experiments.
The shortlisted books for the Business Book of the Year Award covered a range of important topics, including the world economy, supply chains, human rights violations, and the impact of artificial intelligence.
Deep dives
The Financial Times and Schroeder's Business Book of the Year Award
The podcast episode introduces the Financial Times and Schroeder's Business Book of the Year Award as one of the most prestigious awards for business writing. It highlights the diverse subjects that past winning entries have covered, such as the downfall of Theranos, gender discrimination, and investing during financial crises. The episode includes interviews with the winning author and shortlisted writers, and explores the process of selecting the winner.
Discussing Failure in Business Books
The podcast features an interview with Amy Edmondson, the winner of the Business Book of the Year Award. Edmondson discusses the themes of her book, which explores different types of failure in business, including basic failures, complex failures, and intelligent failures. She emphasizes the need for clear-headed thinking in distinguishing between failures to celebrate, failures to prevent, and failures as a result of smart experiments. Edmondson also discusses the mixed message surrounding the popular notion of embracing failure and offers insights into the role of failure in success.
Themes and Authors in the Shortlist
The episode provides a glimpse into some of the other shortlisted books. The subjects covered in this year's shortlist include the world economy, supply chains, human rights violations, and the impact of artificial intelligence. Authors share their motivations for writing these books, the feedback received from readers, and the importance of well-written narratives and compelling ideas in business books.
Every year since 2005, the Financial Times has given an award to the year’s outstanding business book, as chosen by a panel of eminent judges. But how do they actually choose from such a wide array of excellent books? What made them select the shortlist they picked? And who took home the prestigious prize? Host Isabel Berwick speaks to a number of the shortlisted authors, including Amy Edmondson, author of ‘Right Kind of Wrong’; Ed Conway, who wrote ‘Material World’; Siddharth Kara, whose latest book is ‘Cobalt Red’; and DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, whose book ‘The Coming Wave’ discusses the fearsome risks that AI poses to humanity. Isabel also speaks to FT editor Roula Khalaf, and FT senior business writer Andrew Hill, who has stewarded the prize since it began.
Want to get in touch? Write to Isabel at isabel.berwick@ft.com
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Credits: Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.