The Age of Outrage - by Karthik Ramanna (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Outrage is everywhere-on the left and on the right-and many companies are finding themselves in the crosshairs. Go Fund Me was pressured to cut off funding to protesting truckers in Ottawa. Disney's CEO was dragged down for mishandling both sides of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. Facebook and other tech companies have been accused of manipulating elections in many countries and by many parties. People are angry with the world-in some cases, rightfully so-and now view companies as they do governments: as targets of their ire and potential forces for social change. Managing outrage has moved from being an occasional leadership challenge, such as handling a PR crisis, to a necessary and critical leadership capability, like strategic thinking or financial acumen. Based on his popular Oxford leadership program and deep-dive case studies on organizations such as IKEA, Nestlâe, the London Metropolitan Police, the Vatican, and others, Karthik Ramanna offers a set of practices for leaders to navigate this age of polarization-steps leaders can take to make sense of the outrage they encounter, work with relevant stakeholders to progress through it, and emerge stronger for it. Ramanna's practical framework, developed through years of experience with organizations, helps leaders "turn down the temperature," analyze root causes, develop and implement distinctive organizational responses that are mission consistent, and build individual and organizational resilience. Just as governments have systems for managing regular adverse-weather events such as hurricanes, organizations and their leaders now need an equivalent for managing the stakeholder hostilities that contextualize nearly all their decisions. This book is the essential guide for managing in the age of outrage"--

Book Synopsis

A first-of-its-kind look at the outrage gripping organizations worldwide--and how leaders can respond to it.

Outrage is everywhere--on the left and on the right--and many companies have found themselves in the crosshairs. GoFundMe was pressured to cut off funding to protesting truckers in Ottawa. Disney's CEO was dragged down for mishandling both sides of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. Facebook and other tech companies have been accused of manipulating elections in many countries and by many parties.

People are angry with the world--in some cases, rightfully so--and now view companies as they do governments, as targets of their wrath and potential forces for social change. Managing outrage has moved from being an occasional leadership challenge, like handling a PR crisis, to a necessary and critical leadership capability, like strategic thinking or financial acumen.

Based on his popular University of Oxford leadership course and case studies on organizations such as IKEA, Nestlé, the Vatican, and others, Karthik Ramanna offers practical steps to make sense of the outrage, work with relevant stakeholders to progress through it, and emerge stronger for it. Ramanna's pragmatic framework, developed through years of experience with organizations, helps leaders "turn down the temperature," analyze root causes, develop and implement responses that are mission-consistent, and build resilience.

The Age of Outrage is an essential guide for leaders and their teams in this new era of polarization.

Review Quotes

Named one of "The 10 Best Business Books of 2024" by Forbes

"For frazzled executives tearing their hair out after the latest generational blow-up in the workplace or social media diatribe by a customer, this book might be a good place to start." -- Financial Times

"...avoiding political and social controversy is very difficult, as The Age of Outrage, a thoughtful new book by Karthik Ramanna, a professor at Oxford University, makes clear." -- The Economist

Advance Praise for The Age of Outrage:

"In a world prone to outrage, leaders must navigate with grace, resilience, and strategic insight. This book provides the tools for ensuring your organization not only endures but thrives." -- Frances Frei, Professor, Harvard Business School; former Senior Vice President, Uber; and coauthor, Move Fast and Fix Things

"We live in an era of outrage and outages, and Ramanna has masterfully created a very thoughtful and timely leadership playbook to deal with these complex issues." -- Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Tata Steel

"Karthik Ramanna helps CEOs and other top leaders survive a crisis in the age of social media. His chapter on temperate leadership should be required reading for executives from Wall Street to Main Street." -- Brooke Masters, US Financial Editor, Financial Times

"A must-read for those looking to lead effectively in an era where outrage seems omnipresent." -- Sir Sajid Javid, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer; former UK Home Secretary; and former Conservative Party MP

"Karthik Ramanna's framework for how to shape and live by your organization's values should be required reading for leaders making decisions that will determine our future." -- Congressman Seth Moulton, US House of Representatives (D-Massachusetts); former candidate, Democratic nomination for US President

"Karthik Ramanna has produced a user's manual for the current context. Not taking sides, he helps leaders in both the private and public sectors understand the instability of this moment--and act accordingly." -- David Rhodes, Executive Chairman, Sky News Group; former President, CBS News; former Vice President, Fox News

About the Author

Karthik Ramanna is a professor of business and public policy at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government, where he's served as director of one of the world's most diverse leadership programs. Formerly a professor at Harvard Business School, he is an expert on business-government affairs and has won numerous awards, including the international Case Centre's Outstanding Case Writer prize, dubbed by the Financial Times as "the business school Oscars."