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Strategy+Business Best Business Books of 2006

Strategy+Business has published their Best Business Books: 2006. This list is one I look forward to each year (they are on their sixth). The books they choose require a deeper mediation on the study of management and the issues that face business. The feature is divided into 11 topics and each topic is accompanied by an essay.

I encourage you to read the essays. The magazine has recruited a great set of writers which include Howard Rheingold, Nikos Mourkogiannis, and James O'Toole. Each essay provides context for the book selections within the area of study. This year's list also includes a couple of special topics including The Business of Defense and Fiction (as inspired by business). The topic headings will take you to the essays and a starred (*) book means it was chosen as the best book in the category.

The Future by Howard Rheingold

• The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom by Yocahi Benkler*
• Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
• Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World by Robert Neuwirth
• The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy by AnnaLee Saxenian
• The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth by Tim Flannery

Economics by Michael Schrage

• Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations: A Story of Economic Discovery by David Warsh
• The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics by Eric D. Beinhocker
• More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places by Michael J. Mauboussin*

Marketing by Nick Wreden

• Marketing Metrics: 50+ Metrics Every Executive Should Master by Paul W. Farris, Neil T. Bendle, Phillip E. Pfeifer, and David J. Reibstein*
• Six Sigma for Marketing Processes: An Overview for Marketing Executives, Leaders, and Managers by Clyde M. Creveling, Lynne Hambleton, and Burke McCarthy
• The 50-Plus Market: Why the Future Is Age Neutral When It Comes to Marketing and Branding Strategies by Dick Stroud
• Brand Rejuvenation: How to Protect, Strengthen, and Add Value to Your Brand to Prevent It from Ageing by Jean-Marc Lehu
• Why Johnny Can’t Brand: Rediscovering the Lost Art of the Big Idea by Bill Schley and Carl Nichols Jr.
• Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Strong Brands by Martin Roll

Media by Neil Minow

• Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby
• An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths by Glenn Reynolds
• The Google Story: Inside the Hottest Business, Media, and Technology Success of Our Time by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed
• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson*

Negotiation by Nikos Mourkogiannis

• Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People by G. Richard Shell
• Negotiate to Win: The 21 Rules for Successful Negotiating by Jim Thomas
• Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate by Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro*

Strategy by Chuck Lucier and Jan Dyer

• The Growth Gamble: When Leaders Should Bet Big on New Business — and How They Can Avoid Expensive Failures by Andrew Campbell and Robert Park
• 10 Rules for Strategic Innovators: From Idea to Execution by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble*
• The Core Value Proposition: Capture the Power of Your Business Building Ideas by Jack G. Hardy

Governance by Michelle Leder

• Tougher Boards for Tougher Times: Corporate Governance in the Post-Enron Era by William A. Dimma*
• Going South: An Inside Look at Corruption and Greed, and the Power of the HealthSouth Message Board by William Cast, M.D.
• Hedgehogging by Barton Biggs

Management by David Hurst

• From Resource Allocation to Strategy by Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert, editors*
• The World’s Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the Twentieth Century by Christopher D. McKenna
• The Hare and the Tortoise: An Informal Guide to Business Strategy by John Kay
• Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton
• The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives Are Excelling as Leaders…and What Every Manager Needs to Know by Kirk Snyder

The Business of Defense by Dov S. Zakheim

• A Bloody Business: America’s War Zone Contractors and the Occupation of Iraq by Colonel Gerald Schumacher
• Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton*
• Corporate Soldiers and International Security: The Rise of Private Military Companies by Christopher Kinsey

Fiction by Jonathan Weber

• Company: A Novel by Max Barry
• JPod: A Novel by Douglas Coupland
• Sex and the Single Zillionaire: A Novel by Tom Perkins
• Rome, Inc.: The Rise and Fall of the First Multinat
• ional Corporation by Stanley Bing*

Leadership by James O'Toole

• The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter*
• Heroes: Saviors, Traitors, and Supermen. A History of Hero Worship by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
• Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis
• Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World by Sharon Daloz Parks
• Why Should Anyone Be Led by YOU? What It Takes to Be an Authentic Leader by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones
• Leading through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities by Mark Gerzon
• Reinventing Leadership: Strategies to Empower the Organization by Warren G. Bennis and Robert Townsend