Book description
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.
"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
Ron Fournier, formerly the national political
writer at The Associated Press, is editor-in-chief of HOTSOUP. com, an
online community of people who influence other people. Douglas B.
Sosnik advises Fortune 100 companies and the National Basketball
Association, as well as Democratic governors and senators. Matthew
J. Dowd is founding partner of Vianovo, a corporate brand and
positioning firm. He advises California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos.
