A parable is a short story that uses fictional characters.  In the case of the books I am discussing the books are business parables that utilize fictional characters to tackle a particular problem or issue in corporate America.  Through the use of fictional characters the authors hope to show managers how they can turn around their own company.  

Business parables are amongst some of the most successful business books sold in the publishing industry today and, as a result, are becoming more popular with publishers and the authors that publish them.  

Why they are they so popular?

1. Businesses can get their employees to read the books.  As they are short stories the books can typically be read in under three hours each and therefore don't require a massive time investment to read them.
2. These books are typically sold to corporate executives in big batches by publishing sales people or the authors themselves.  Corporate executives are frequently trying to make their workplace more fun and more profitable through higher productivity and better employee retention.  When they see such a book they believe the likelihood of implementation is higher because the probability of getting full participation is higher due to small size, ease of reading, etc.

If you want my opinion on parables click here to see my Pros and Cons article.