Managing in the Age of Outrage

As societies become angrier, managers must condition themselves to respond sensitively.

by

Karthik Ramanna

by

Karthik Ramanna

From the Magazine (January–February 2023) · Long read

Ken Hermann

Summary.

Almost every leader in every sector is now dealing with angry stakeholders. Even a revered company like Apple can find itself suddenly managing outrage flashpoints, both with employees and with external groups. Such encounters are nothing new; what sets this time apart is a perfect storm of three forces: (1) Many people feel unhopeful about the future. (2) Many feel, rightly or wrongly, that the game has been rigged against them. (3) Many are being drawn toward ideologies that legitimize an us-versus-them approach. The author offers a five-step framework for dealing with outrage that draws on analytical insights from disciplines as wide-ranging as the science of aggression, managerial economics, organizational behavior, and political philosophy. It forms the basis of a course he teaches at Oxford and has been built inductively through a series of deep-dive case studies on a variety of organizations, including IKEA, the London Metropolitan Police, Nestlé, and Oxford University Hospitals.

Idea in Brief

The Problem

Leaders in every sector are now dealing with angry stakeholders. Witness the crisis confronting government officials—and associated businesses—in early 2022, when Ottawa was blockaded by truckers protesting Covid-19 vaccination requirements.

Why It Happens

We are experiencing a perfect storm of three forces: Many people believe the future will be worse than the present. They also feel—rightly or wrongly—that the game is rigged and they have been treated unfairly. And they are increasingly drawn to ideologies of “othering.”

The Solution

Drawing on real-world case studies and on disciplines including psychology, economics, and philosophy, this article offers a framework for managing outraged stakeholders that includes five steps: turning down the temperature, analyzing the outrage, shaping and bounding your responses, understanding your power to mobilize others, and renewing resilience.

Leaders in every sector are now dealing with angry stakeholders. Witness the crisis confronting government officials in Ottawa in early 2022, when the city was blockaded by large numbers of Freedom Convoy truckers protesting Covid-19 vaccination requirements. At the same time, customers and the media were pressuring GoFundMe, TD Bank, and others to cut off donations to the protesters. Even a low-key organization can find itself suddenly coping with outrage from both employees and external stakeholders.

A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2023 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Karthik Ramanna is a professor of business and public policy at University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. He coauthored the McKinsey Award–winning HBR article “Accounting for Climate Change” (November–December 2021).” He is a co-founder of the E-Liability Institute, a global not-for-profit advancing the urgent accounting upgrade needed to drive green innovation.

Managing in the Age of Outrage

Idea in Brief

The Problem

Why It Happens

The Solution

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