Description
In the course of seven years as head of the Human Rights Campaign, Solmonese learned to harness his anger, in part due to Judy Shepard whose son was murdered due to his sexual orientation in 1998. She inspired him to channel his anger in ways that led to greater effectiveness and ultimately spurred him to write The Gift of Anger. He passes on the strategies that made HRC a model for creating social and political change. He cites anger as the potential energy source that can propel us to overcome systemic social injustice or the fuel that helps us to get what we want in a personal or professional situation. He reveals why the single most important trait for success in any workplace is the ability to resolve conflicts and get what you want without causing ill feelings, disparaging others, or creating drama. He also emphasizes that the power of relationships cannot be underestimated. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
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Under Joe Solmonese’s leadership, the Human Rights Campaign became the model other organizations look toward to create effective social and political change. Against daunting odds, HRC was instrumental in passing landmark national legislation such as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act; repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; and passing marriage equality acts in eight states. How did Solmonese and HRC do it? What Solmonese reveals in this book is that for him, the key to success was learning to harness his anger. Essentially it’s just a form of energy. Channeled, it can keep you moving forward on a long journey. But uncontrolled, it can blow everything up. With this as his guiding principle, Solmonese uses stories from his work with HRC and his previous position as CEO of the powerful women’s organization EMILY’s List to share a series of often-surprising lessons. For example, empathize with your enemies instead of shaming them, find allies wherever you can, and ask for the doable, not the impossible (even when the “impossible” is your ultimate goal). Most striking in this book are the stories of Solmonese’s ability to draw some kind of win—however small—from seeming adversaries. But at every step of the way he emphasizes the importance of managing the yin-yang tension of anger. Particularly when one is dealing with irrational and offensive attitudes, the temptation is ever present to give in to righteous indignation. While it’s fine to feel it, Solmonese’s advice is to always be strategic with your outrage.
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