Winner
The Ethical Imperative: Leading with Conscience to Shape the Future of Business
Andrew Cooper
Taught at NYU to influence a new generations of ethical business leaders, this book is influencing the next generation of executives to rethink corporate decision-making. Offering forward-thinking wisdom on how to evolve past destructive modern practices in business, the book is an original and thought-provoking model for the synthesis of corporate growth and true sustainability. Digging into the dark and abstract costs of contemporary labor and late-stage capitalism, this book is both a nuanced critique and a scathing revelation, linking disparate concepts in politics, philosophy, psychology, history, and corporate tradition to make a resounding point about the loss of professional ethics that drive the current economic system, while providing actionable ways forward that veer away from wishful thinking, given Cooper's authority on the topic. With the overall intention of eschewing the profit-now approach, Cooper articulates a convincing argument to radically reframe business.
Winner
Level Up Your Leadership: Becoming More Conscious, Courageous & Resilient
Deborah Naish
Author Deborah Naish is a highly successful leadership coach who is now bringing to a wider audience what she personally has developed that has helped so many leaders grow exponentially – from the inside out. Under her brilliant guidance - and now, via this book - they go from stuck to unstuck; frustrated to energized; confused to clear; overwhelmed to taking action – while becoming more creative, innovative, delivering dynamic results regularly and consciously – instead of who knows when.
Leader-readers learn to do a lot more than they think they can and to understand leadership as an inside-out process (instead of only a set of skills), while exploring their beliefs, challenging unhelpful patterns, and embracing resistance as a signpost for growth.
Beyond professional advancement, it also helps these reader-leaders have balance to their lives, often for the first time.
Yes, leaders do need help and here it is, finally.
Winner
What Lights You Up?: Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career
Mary Olson-Menzel
What Lights You Up? Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career takes readers on a journey to find their next meaningful and fulfilling job―no matter where they are right now. Whether you're an industry veteran pivoting between fields, a stay-at-home parent just rejoining the workforce, or a college student trying to find their footing, this heartfelt, actionable, and authentic book covers everything you need to know about getting results in the modern world of work and is full of insightful, real-life stories of success that inspire the reader to take action in their own life.
Winner
SEAM: The Adaptive Strategy Framework for Leaders
Mike “Woody” Woodhouse
SEAM is a rallying cry for every leader, creator, and changemaker who’s ever felt paralyzed by the myth of perfection. With clarity and compassion, it dismantles the illusion that success comes from flawless execution and instead celebrates the power of adaptation, humility, and human connection. Mike “Woody” Woodhouse offers a bold framework that frees readers to act, reflect, and evolve without shame or hesitation. SEAM reminds us that real leadership isn’t about getting it perfect. It’s about showing up, learning fast, and staying true to your purpose. This book has sparked transformation across industries, and families helping people lead with courage, not fear. It’s not just a strategy guide. It’s a permission slip to be imperfect, and still extraordinary. Mike has also applied this framework and shared it among many military peers and leaders that have already began using it as a professional and self development tool.
Finalist
Afro-Optimism Unleashed: Scaling African Excellence to the Global Stage
Adeolu Adewumi-Zer
"Afro-Optimism Unleashed" is positively impacting readers by empowering African SME founders and CEOs with practical, actionable strategies to overcome challenges and scale their businesses globally. Through its clear guidance on leadership, governance, and networking, the book inspires a new generation of African entrepreneurs to build resilient, transparent, and growth-oriented enterprises. It fosters a mindset of optimism and excellence, encouraging inclusive business practices and community upliftment, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development across the continent. Readers consistently report how the book has increased their confidence, sharpened their business operations, and strengthened their leadership skills. By providing a comprehensive and optimistic roadmap, "Afro-Optimism Unleashed" equips African business leaders with the tools to compete confidently on the world stage while promoting values of transparency and diversity.
Finalist
Strategy's Rosetta Stone
JON ANE ANE
• An all-inclusive tool to build a focused Strategy.
• Unfolds all the key dimensions in one integrated tool.
• Provide you with different Strategy combinations that suit your needs.
• All the derivatives of Strategy are connected.
• Creates consistency.
• Presents a panoramic view of the business arena.
• Creates a common language within the organisation.
• Tightens cooperation amongst the organisation's arms and functions.
• Creates strategic alignment amongst your team.
• Focuses your resource allocation priorities.
• Helps you put a price tag on your choices.
• Provides a systematic process as a strategic decision-making tool.
• Dictates clear-cut guidelines to build tactics and create a stronger impact.
• Helps you see the wood for the trees and prioritise your actions.
• Promotes better competitive standing and stamina.
• Helps you predict the strategic moves of your competitors.
• Promises strategic consistency and synergy.
• Promotes env’ harmony.
Finalist
Personal Leadership in the Age of No Retirement
Tatiana S. Rowson
Kelly Sloan
By introducing a sustainable personal leadership development approach that is fit for purpose in this era of longevity, this book addresses the inevitable shift in societal attitudes towards work, health, wellbeing, and expectations around retirement and helps individuals to effectively navigate the coming years of their lives. The book provides a model that is flexible, inclusive, and individualised. The authors, experts in organisational psychology and management, emphasise the need for recalibration of personal leadership goals and actions for sustainable and fulfilling working lives. The book’s scientific research insights combined with the relatable examples and practical exercises will help mid-career business executives, professionals, and the general reader reflect on their career journey to date and adapt their personal developmental needs in light of new aspirations and realities so they can plan purposeful and meaningful actions to unlock the next chapter successfully.