Good reads in business
The National Business Book Award used its annual luncheon to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The NBBA has come to be recognized as one of Canada’s most prestigious literary awards. Alfred Hermida was named the winner for his book, Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why it Matters, published by Doubleday Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The short list of finalists included Jacques Poitras, Irving vs. Irving: Canada’s Feuding Billionaires And The Stories They Won’t Tell, published by Viking Canada, also an imprint of Penguin Random House; and Clive Veroni, Spin: How Politics has the Power to Turn Marketing on its Head, published by House of Anansi Press Inc.
Tell Everyone is about the urge to constantly share information and be social, and how this is enhanced and extended by a new range of technologies. Hermida analyzes the way news and information is framed using social media, proving that what we’re doing is something inherently human, though in new ways and in a new space.
“Social media and the ways in which people communicate with one another are evolving at an incredible rate,” says Tahir Ayub, managing partner, markets and industries, at PwC Canada, one of the sponsors of the luncheon along with BMO Financial Group.
“Understanding new media and its impact on the world, namely your customers and how they interact with each other and your brand, is critical to business leaders making informed decisions.”
Boldface names making the rounds included hosts Ayub and Lily Capriotti, chief learning officer at BMO Financial Group; CBC broadcaster Peter Mansbridge; David Denison, chair of Hydro One; Anna Porter, author and publisher; finalist Veroni and his mother, Estelle Weynman; Poitras and his wife, Giselle Goguen; Steven Murphy, dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University; Raj Kothari, managing partner, GTA, at PwC; Joe Martin, professor at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; and Amy Black, associate publisher at Doubleday Canada.