Henry Mintzberg is a Professor of Management Studies at McGill University in Montreal and a world renowned management author publishing seminal works such as The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (1994). Mintzberg’s book won the competition from a field of 145 entries, triumphing over a shortlist of 15 prolific business and management authors.

Following the announcement Henry Mintzberg said “I would be honoured by this lovely prize in any event. But it has special meaning for me because, of all the places I go in this world, none matches the U.K. for intellectual stimulation. The Brits combine curiosity and empathy with wonderful individuality, by which I mean, not acting for oneself, but thinking for oneself. So to be honoured in this way in the U.K. is especially delightful.

Bill Lucas, author of ‘rEvolution: How to Thrive in Crazy Times’ and Richard Donkin, author of ‘The Future of Work’, were also named as winners in their respective Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Digital book categories.

Professor Cary Cooper, a workplace psychologist based at the University of Lancaster, and one of the competition judges added: “The quality of the books submitted for the CMI Management Book of the Year has been absolutely outstanding. It has been very difficult to choose between them, given the high quality of management books published during 2010. In this ever changing world, it is critical that managers keep themselves up-to-date with the latest ideas, techniques and approaches to managing people. The winners of the three categories provide leading edge thought leadership for the second decade of the 21st century.”

The competition’s climax comes as research by CMI reveals that managers recognise the importance of reading with 85% of managers polled having read at least one management book in the past year. With more than 250,000 management titles in existence in the UK*, it is likely that managers are unsure which ones to choose. As part of its commitment to improving the performance and impact of the UK’s managers and leaders, CMI is urging managers to see the CMI Management Book of the Year competition as an effective way to identify those essential texts which will help transform their working practices.

Ruth Spellman, CMI chief executive, said: “As UK plc tentatively emerges from recession we need to expose our managers to good ideas and innovative thinking. This rationale is at the heart of the CMI Management Book of the Year competition. We want to encourage all the UK’s managers and leaders to commit to reading to aid their professional development and become better managers.

“It is important for managers to take a wider view of their leadership styles and make use of the wealth of information available to them. Management books provide useful answers to some of the many issues that business leaders are facing such as how to improve employee engagement. It’s understandable that, with so many management books to choose from, picking the right books to read can be a challenge. The CMI Management Book of the Year will help to change that, by bringing the best management writing to current and aspiring managers.”

Simon Bell, Head of Partnerships and Licensing at the British Library said: “Every year our Business & IP Centre serves thousands of business people and researchers whose priority is to get hold of top quality information and the latest creative thinking so that they can develop their ideas, their businesses and their staff. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the CMI, and in common cause with authors and publishers, to showcase the best and most innovative examples of management writing both in traditional and, for the first time, in digital form. In doing this, we hope to get people excited about the wealth of inspirational ideas that are being developed and exchanged right now.”

Find out what you should be reading to enhance your career at www.managementbookoftheyear.org.uk