Synopses & Reviews
In this era of technology, terror, and massive social change, it takes a deft touch to connect with Americans.
Applebee's America cracks the twenty-first-century code for political, business, and religious leaders struggling to keep pace with the times.
A unique team of authors -- Douglas B. Sosnik, a strategist in the Clinton White House; Matthew J. Dowd, a strategist for President Bush's two campaigns; and award-winning political journalist Ron Fournier -- took their exclusive insiders' knowledge far outside Washington's beltway in search of keys to winning leadership.
They discovered that successful leaders, even those from disparate fields, have more in common than not.
Their book takes you inside the reelection campaigns of Bush and Clinton, behind the scenes of hyper-successful megachurches, and into the boardrooms of corporations such as Applebee's International, the world's largest casual dining restaurant chain. You'll also see America through the anxious eyes of ordinary people, buffeted by change and struggling to maintain control of their lives.
Whether you're promoting a candidate, a product, or the Word of God, the rules are the same in Applebee's America.
People make choices about politics, consumer goods, and religion with their hearts, not their heads.
Successful leaders touch people at a gut level by projecting basic American values that seem lacking in modern institutions and missing from day-to-day life experiences.
The most important Gut Values today are community and authenticity. People are desperate to connect with one another and be part of a cause greater than themselves. They're tired of spin and sloganeering from political, business, and religious institutions that constantly fail them.
A person's lifestyle choices can be used to predict how
he or she will vote, shop, and practice religion. The authors reveal exclusive new details about the best "LifeTargeting" strategies.
In this age of skepticism and media diversification, people are abandoning traditional opinion leaders for "Navigators." These otherwise average Americans help their family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers negotiate the swift currents of change in twenty-first-century America.
Winning leaders ignore conventional wisdom and its many myths, including these false assumptions: Voters only act in their self-interests; Republicans rule exurbia; and technology drives people apart. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
Once you squander a Gut Values Connection, you may never get it back. Bush learned that hard lesson within a year of winning reelection.
Applebee's America offers numerous practical examples of how leaders -- whether from the worlds of politics, business, or religion -- earn the loyalty and support of people by understanding and sharing their values and goals.
Review
"
Applebee's America captures the ever-evolving sense of community in America and offers incredibly valuable insights into the way leaders can connect with the American public."
-- Howard Schultz, Chairman, Starbucks Coffee Company
Review
"In a lucid and engaging narrative, the authors offer an insightful account of modern America that should interest Americans of all political, religious, and social affiliations, and prove invaluable to those who presume to lead them."
-- Senator John Mccain
Review
"
Applebee's America provides what may be the most compelling and accurate description of this powerful new source of community, purpose, and authenticity. A must-read from cover to cover."
-- Bob Buford, Founding Chairman, Leadership Network; Author, Halftime and Finishing Well
Review
"A lively introduction to the new world of marketing 'connections' and 'Gut Values' to an America in search of community and meaning, this book should win a wide audience."
-- Robert Putnam, Author of Bowling Alone
Review
"For anyone interested in how Americans make connections and build community in the twenty-first century, this book is a must-read. Whether your interest is in the political world or the business world,
Applebee's America explains how community and shared values can determine how we vote, where we worship, and even where we dine. Whether you manage a restaurant or a political organization, there are certain consistencies that matter to people: community, communication, and authenticity. This book examines current trends and provides fresh thinking and new ideas and strategies for anyone interested in influencing large groups of people."
-- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Synopsis
Table of Contents
Contents
Authors' Note
Introduction: Stormy Present
Part I: Great Connectors
1. Politics: Values Trump the Economy
2. Business: Selling Community
3. Religion: A Cause Greater than Yourself
Part II: Great Change
4. Anxious Americans
5. The 3 Cs: Connections, Community, and Civic Engagement
6. Navigators
7. Americans on the Move
8. Generation 9/11
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1. What's Your Tribe?
Appendix 2. Changes in Technology and American Lifestyle
Notes
Index