Red, White and Radical: What Organisations Can Learn About Change from the Rise of American Conservatism

223 Pages·2020·6.957 MB·English

by  Warrick Harniess

Red, White and Radical
Red, White and Radical explores how and why America has become so con-
servative since World War II. In the process, it offers lessons that professional
leaders, regardless of their political stance, should heed if they want their organisa-
tional change plans to succeed.
Over the past 70 years, a motley crew of suburban activists, libertarian businessmen
and political opportunists have radically changed America and its national values.
The rise of American conservatism is the greatest modern example of cultural change
in the Western world. How did they do it – and what can we learn from this? Red,
White and Radical is a manual for organisational change. It tells nine stories from
American cultural, political and business history that illuminate how conservatives
have pioneered change. From these stories, it extracts a change management lesson
for professional leaders and explains how to apply that lesson in the workplace.
These nine lessons are organised into a clear change framework:
1. understanding and motivating people
2. communicating with emotion and authenticity
3. building teams and networks that can deliver lasting change.
Along the way you’ll also learn:
• how Marlboro became the world’s biggest cigarette brand
• why conservatives love Ronald Reagan but despise Richard Nixon
• the origins of the social media echo chamber
• how Silicon Valley learned to lobby
• the secrets of Donald Trump’s populist X Factor.
Red, White and Radical is not for the faint of heart. If you’re a passionate business
leader who relishes the challenge of delivering true organisational change for the
better, then this book is for you.
Warrick Harniess is an educator and founder of Scandinavia Stories, a
learning and development agency that specialises in creativity, communications
and change. His clients include multinational companies and professional services
firms, universities and start-ups. He learned his craft during a career at Pearson
Education, and as a musician inspired by punk rock and the do-it-yourself ethos.
Red, White and Radical is his first book.

Red, White
and Radical
What ORganisatiOns can
leaRn abOut change fROm
the Rise Of ameRican
cOnseRvatism
Warrick Harniess
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Warrick Harniess
The right of Warrick Harniess to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-14971-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-05419-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion Pro and Helvetica Neue
by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK
For my family

cOntents
List of images x
About the author xiv
introduction 1
Part I PeoPle cHange 17
case stORy 1 marlboro 19
What can we learn from case
story 1? 35
case stORy 2 suburbia 39
What can we learn from case
story 2? 54
case stORy 3 Personas 60
What can we learn from case
story 3? 75
Part II communIcatIng cHange 81
case stORy 4 freedom 83
What can we learn from case
story 4? 93
vii
CONTENTS
case stORy 5 entertainment 99
What can we learn from case
story 5? 114
case stORy 6 channels 119
What can we learn from case
story 6? 134
Part III leadIng cHange 139
case stORy 7 misfits 141
What can we learn from case
story 7? 156
case stORy 8 networks 160
What can we learn from case
story 8? 175
case stORy 9 trump 178
What can we learn from case
story 9? 194
Epilogue 198
Index 202
viii
‘Cultural change is hard’
President Donald J. Trump, 5 August 2019