The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth About Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations

"Yes, Robert Livingston. We may have spoken about this in previous years, but often core management books don’t win through to the longlist of the FT book prize, let alone the shortlist. The Conversation is, in many ways, a core management book. It’s about how to have ‘the conversation’, that difficult discussion about race, but also how to turn that discussion into meaningful change at work and in society. “It has to be a good story” What I liked—and what our judges liked—about this book was that not only was it practical, but it also treated the reader as a grown-up. It’s saying, ‘There is research on this, here’s the research, here’s the advice, here are the pitfalls.’ It takes on some of the practical challenges that a lot of organizations and managers are facing. It’s really a book for managers, I think, probably more than some of the books out there that are more about how individuals might think about race. Yes, it’s saying, ‘Look, this is a conversation that we’re going to have, that we want to have, but there’s no need to come at it from a position of fear.’ The tone of it is such that it is the kind of book you can hand out easily without anyone thinking you’re trying to make some special point, other than this is a useful, practical way of thinking about an issue that is important to anyone in management."