A controversial book that dubs today’s super-paid ego-driven leaders the ‘L’Oreal Generation’ has scooped CMI’s coveted management book of the year prize.

The Cult of the Leader by Christopher Bones argues that that businesses have been dragged into a talent war, where we pay an ever-larger share of hard-won revenue to a handful of senior executives. Bones describes this generation of ego-driven leaders as the “L’Oreal generation”. Put simply, they think they deserve large salaries “because they’re worth it”.

The title was named CMI Management Book of the Year at an awards event hosted by the British Library yesterday evening.

The panel of five expert judges, which included Professor Cary Cooper and former IBM chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver, voted unanimously to hand the accolade to Bones.

The Cult of the Leader

“The Cult of the Leader stood out for me, as it is so relevant in the current climate and its analysis of the underlying causes of our current economic issues is the best I have seen,” said Sir Anthony, now Chairman of Novia Financial plc and the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership. “There can be very few, if any, businesses which would not benefit from taking a steer from its recommendations and implementing the most relevant. This book should also be read by anyone wanting to help plot society’s way forward and should be mandatory reading for our politicians.”

As well as the overall winner, winners were announced in a range of different categories. One of the most early anticipated was the Innovation & Entrepreneurship category, sponsored by Cass Business School at City University. Authors Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal B. Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen won the prize for their book The Innovators’ DNA.

The judging panel added that title was a very close second to the The Cult of the Leader in the race for the overall accolade.

The Management Book of the Year competition is run by CMI in association with the British Library. The competition seeks to uncover the UK’s best books on management and leadership and raise the profile of the great management writing published in the UK.

Full list of winners

Overall winner
The Cult of the Leader: a manifesto for more authentic business by Christopher Bones

Category winners

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen

eBook
Bold: how to be brave in business and win by Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan

The Commuter’s Read
Put Your Mindset to Work: the one asset you really need to win and keep the job you love by James Reed and Paul G. Stoltz

Management and Leadership Textbook
Corporate Responsibility by Mick Blowfield and Alan Murray

Practical Manager
The Cult of the Leader: a manifesto for more authentic business by Christopher Bones