The 2023 Porchlight Business Book Awards
November 30, 2023
These 40 books spoke to us—and we believe speak to each other—in a way that furthers the conversations we need to have in the organizations we work in, the communities we live in, and the societies that shape us. With them as a guide, we can make decisions that better shape each, in turn.
As we stated when we opened our awards for entries this year:
We believe it is more useful to view books as in conversation, rather than in competition, with each other.
Finding the right book at the right time can change your life, or the life of your organization. But the right book for me and my company right now might not be the right one for you and yours. So, rather than narrowing down this list any further and telling you which we think are the best, we will be taking time to write about them more in-depth over the next month so you can determine which among them are the best for you, your company, and your community.
As our Managing Director, Sally Haldorson, recently said:
We feel like that conversation is incredibly valuable at this time. Especially at a time when we have a tendency to isolate ourselves, feel isolated, isolate ideas in binary ways, we really want to have this deep conversation about business books of all types.
The books in that conversation this year are:
LEADERSHIP & STRATEGY
- Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership by Kirstin Ferguson, Berrett-Koehler Publishers
- How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between by Bent Flyvbjerg & Dan Gardner, Currency
- Lead Together: Stop Squirreling Away Power and Build a Better Team by Tania Luna, Peakpoint Press
- Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems by Frances Frei & Anne Morriss, Harvard Business Review Press
- The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us about Work and Life by Sally Jenkins, Gallery Books
MANAGEMENT & WORKPLACE CULTURE
- The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work by Zeynep Ton, Harvard Business Review Press
- How Work Works: The Subtle Science of Getting Ahead Without Losing Yourself by Michelle P. King, PhD, Harper Business
- Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy Edmondson, Atria Books
- Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace by Melissa Swift, Wiley
- Working to Restore: Harnessing the Power of Regenerative Business to Heal the World by Esha Chhabra, Beacon Press
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS/SALES & INFLUENCE
- The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think about Growth by Tiffani Bova, Portfolio
- Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet by Taylor Lorenz, Simon & Schuster
- For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be by Marcus Collins, PublicAffairs
- Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work by Uri Gneezy, Yale University Press
- The Unsold Mindset: Redefining What It Means to Sell by Colin Coggins & Garrett Brown, Harper Business
INNOVATION & CREATIVITY
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, Penguin Press
- The Four Workarounds: Strategies from the World's Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems by Paulo Savaget, Flatiron Books
- The Idea Is the Easy Part: Myths and Realities of the Startup World by Brian Dovey, Matt Holt
- Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World by Scott Shigeoka, Balance
- Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen, Random House
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & HUMAN BEHAVIOR
- All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive by Rainesford Stauffer, Hachette Go
- A Healthy State of Panic: Follow Your Fears to Build Wealth, Crush Your Career, and Win at Life by Farnoosh Torabi, Atria Books
- Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant, Viking
- Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work by Joanne Lipman, Mariner Books
- Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection—Now and in an Uncertain Future by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman & Martin Seligman, Atria Books
CURRENT EVENTS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
- Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets by Jeff Horwitz, Doubleday Books
- The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman with Michael Bhaskar, Crown
- Containing Big Tech: How to Protect Our Civil Rights, Economy, and Democracy by Tom Kemp, Fast Company Press
- Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux, Crown Currency
- These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—And Wrecks—America by Gretchen Morgenson & Joshua Rosner, Simon & Schuster
NARRATIVE & BIOGRAPHY
- Awaken: The Path to Purpose, Inner Peace & Healing by Raj Sisodia, Wiley
- He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar, Hachette Go
- Life On Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe by Aomawa Shields, PhD, Viking
- Sideman: In Pursuit of the Next Gig by Mark Rivera, Matt Holt
- Strong Female Character by Fern Brady, Harmony
BIG IDEAS & NEW PERSPECTIVES
- Birth: Three Mothers, Nine Months, and Pregnancy in America by Rebecca Grant, Avid Reader Press
- Building a Pro-Black World: Moving Beyond DE&I Work and Creating Spaces for Black People to Thrive by Cyndi Suarez and the Staff at NPQ, Wiley
- Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu, Dutton
- The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life by M.T. Connolly, JD, PublicAffairs
- Transformative Negotiation: Strategies for Everyday Change and Equitable Futures by Sarah Federman, University of California Press
We are forever thankful for all the authors and publishing industry professionals who put their hearts, smarts, and time into producing these great books, and to everyone working in the industry who helps get them printed, shipped, and delivered to readers. We appreciate all of you and the monumental efforts you put into bringing more books and ideas into the world.
We will announce The Jack Covert Award for Contribution to the Business Book Industry on December 14th and will resume hosting our annual industry appreciation party to celebrate books and the people who bring them to life on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024, in New York City. (Save the date! Invites will be sent out soon.)
