Cracking the Rock

About the Book

What does it take to transform an entire corporation from the inside, and why does who you are matter?

Cracking the Rock offers a rare, behind-the-scenes account of how one man drove strategic transformation across the Rockwell Corporation, a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate operating in aerospace, electronics, and manufacturing. Dr. Warrington S. Parker Jr., the first African American in this role, shares the hard-earned insights, frameworks, and emotional intelligence that made him an effective internal change agent, even though he was not initially hired for that purpose.

Blending systems thinking, organizational psychology, and lived experience, this compelling professional memoir guides readers through the principles of large-scale organizational change. It includes socio-technical systems design, leadership development, and union-management collaboration. Central to the book is a groundbreaking negotiation process called "Building Trust While Negotiating," which was used to guide union-management contract negotiations and foster shared accountability.

This book is ideal for leaders, organizational consultants, and students of business or psychology. Cracking the Rock goes beyond theory and illustrates how to align culture, structure, and strategy while navigating race, resistance, and complex real-world environments. It is both a guidebook and a testament to the power of trust, collaboration, and purposeful change from within.

If you are looking for proven strategies in organizational change, leadership development, and trust-building across divided systems, this book is your blueprint. Start reading today.

About the Author

I am an Organizational Psychologist and Internal Organizational Change Agent, specializing in implementing large-scale strategic change strategies that resulted in innovative work systems at the Rockwell Corporation.