HBR Press Webinar: The Age of Outrage

We are in a time of unprecedented societal division, where anger is widespread and tempers are fragile. In his latest book, , Karthik Ramanna, professor of business and public policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, proposes a new approach to managing seemingly persistent stakeholder conflict.

On November 26, Karthik will join us to discuss his insights. Drawing upon expertise from aggression science, managerial economics, organizational behavior, and political philosophy, Ramanna attributes our polarized society to three main factors:

• A Fear of the Future caused by disruptive technology, climate change, and demographic shifts.
• A perception of being dealt a Raw Deal by those in power on issues like globalization, immigration, and taxation of the wealthy.
• An increasing Sense of Othering, where more individuals see the world in "us versus them" terms.

Despite these divisive forces, Ramanna shows that leaders can maintain cohesion and make a positive impact. He cautions that it’s easy to lose sight of an organization’s fundamental mission amid the distractions of societal division and, in light of this, his guidance helps us to redefine leadership.

Using the methodology he developed for his Oxford program, which has trained over 1,000 leaders from more than 120 countries, Ramanna provides a five-part framework to help leaders address crises:

• “Turning down the temperature”: Establishing an environment conducive to calm discussion.
• “Making sense of the moment”: Understanding the root causes of disunity to identify the source of specific conflicts.
• “Scoping the response”: Evaluating the organization’s capabilities and constraints, including moral responsibilities and pragmatic necessities.
• “Understanding the leader’s power”: Ensuring sustainable action since the current crisis won't be the last.
• “Building organizational and personal resilience”: Implementing disciplines to decentralize power and cultivate the capacity to learn from failure.

Join us to discover how to steer through today’s challenging social dynamics.

is a professor of business and public policy at University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, where he has served as director of one of the world’s most diverse leadership programs. Previously a professor at Harvard Business School, Professor Ramanna studies how organizations and leaders build trust with stakeholders. His scholarship has won numerous awards including the Harvard Business Review-McKinsey Prize for “groundbreaking management thinking.”

Register to confirm your place. You will receive the online link to the event in your confirmation email. This event is recorded and you will receive a link to watch in your own time if you can’t join live.

The event is free to HBR subscribers and followers. Click to learn more about HBR and how to subscribe.

UK residents can also purchase a copy of at the discounted price of £22.00 by choosing the webinar + book ticket option.

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