Nothing like some public recognition to get the blood pumping. In this case, I’m talking about my little ‘ol parable, Cape, Spandex, Briefcase: Leadership Lessons from Superheroes.
After my publisher let me know that it won a medal in the 2017 Axiom Business Book Awards, I was off the wall. While the sales won’t [yet] buy me that house in Tahiti, to be acknowledged for providing value to the business leadership landscape is certainly motivating. If you are unfamiliar with the Axiom Awards, this is the 10th annual event. According to the site:
The Axiom Business Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary business books and their creators, with the understanding that business people are a very well-read and informed segment of the population, eager to learn about great new books that will inspire and inform them, and help them improve their careers and businesses.
Cape, Spandex, Briefcase won the bronze in the Business Fable category. Don’t scoff at the third place; I lost to John Kotter… yes, THE John Kotter. I feel validated just by being on the same list as him. And there were great books in other categories, as well—Strategy that Works: How Winning Companies Close the Strategy-to-Execution Gap, The Art of Authenticity: Tools to Become an Authentic Leader and Your Best Self, and An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization are just a few other Axiom winners I’ve enjoyed and highly recommend.
When writing Cape, Spandex, Briefcase I was cautiously optimistic about diverging into a less traditional book format. I tried in earlier drafts, but relaying the information as a fable seemed more effective, more engaging, and much more fun. Thanks to everyone at Axiom who agreed.
