Introduction

Over the past 50 years, American conservatism has transformed from an obscure fringe movement into one of the most powerful political forces in the United States. Today, more Americans identify as ‘conservative’ than ‘liberal’ or ‘moderate’. How did this cultural change happen and what can we, as business leaders, learn from it? The introduction explains that culture is a moral system of values, norms, identities, institutions and technologies. It provides an overview of the three strands of American conservatism – libertarianism, traditionalism and anti-communism – and how they’ve evolved over the past 50 years. It outlines the structure of the book:

Part I: People change – with a focus on employees, customers and other stakeholders

Part II: Communicating change – with a focus on communication styles and formats

Part III: Leading change – with a focus on management and implementation

It summarises nine key lessons we can learn from the rise of American conservatism in language and concepts that professional leaders will understand. These lessons are explored in detail in the book.