Collaboration is so much better and more productive than fighting
Congress is polarized; so polarized that one side hates to talk with or deal with the other. This seriously impacts their ability to negotiate and get anything done.
Unfortunately, it’s not just Congress that’s polarized. That malaise has spread to just about every facet of our lives. Some formerly close families have separated. And yes, it’s found its way into the workplace.
I remember one company where the liberal VP of engineering wouldn’t even speak with the conservative VP of operations. This set a tremendously bad example for their employees, who largely followed suit. And of course, this company is no longer in business. Too bad, they had some nice products, and some good people lost their jobs.
Some years ago, I had given a speech in Phoenix. I was approached by someone from Israeli Aircraft Industries. “If we invite you to give that speech in my country, will you come?” “Sure!” Of course, I never expected to hear from him again, but I did. I was invited to speak at a quality and productivity conference in Israel. At this point, I’d been to many countries in Europe and the Far East with no problems, but my family didn’t want me going to Israel. They were concerned for my safety. Well, I had to honor my commitment. I agreed to be careful and called home frequently.
I was there for a couple of weeks and consulted with Israeli as well as Palestinian companies. I got to hear both sides, and I was amazed to discover that business leaders on both sides were totally against any fighting. “All we’re doing is destroying each other and our standards of living. You kill my kids, and I’ll kill yours. Burn my house down; I’ll blow yours up. ‘An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth,’ just makes the whole world blind and toothless. Who benefits? No one, and nothing really changes...”
Neither side liked or agreed with the other, but the educated business leaders understood mutual destruction wasn’t making anything better; it was making everything a lot worse. It’s too bad the extremists and much of the general populations couldn’t absorb and apply this wisdom. War is raging between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah as I write this.
I can’t imagine what they were spending for security when I was there. It seems there were armed soldiers everywhere. Thankfully, I didn’t run into any trouble, but it felt good to get home and not have to be so careful or worry so much. I had blonde hair, fair skin and blue eyes, so I stuck out like a sore thumb.
Although we have a lot of disagreements and demonstrations, some turning violent, thankfully we’re not firing missiles at each other, yet. The problem is that disagreements either get better or they get worse, and it seems like we’ve been getting steadily worse for years.
For example, we now have an epidemic of mass shootings, some even in the workplace. Cars are vandalized for sporting the wrong bumper stickers. Disgruntled employees can start with trivial annoyances, but that naturally escalates. It’s awfully hard to have anything resembling teamwork and cooperation in such an environment.
We have an election coming up, and the media are doing all they can to fan the flames. People in the same political party have trouble agreeing with each other. We don’t want our companies to become as dysfunctional as our government. Somehow, we have to keep our politics out of work.
Companies need talent to thrive, and some of that talent may be liberal while other talent is conservative. We have to work closely together to succeed. When a company fails, both sides lose their jobs.
I’ve often found I learn far more from people with whom I disagree than I do from those who feel as I do. Disagreement fosters discussion, and it’s so important to learn why the other side feels the way they do. Decorum is important; getting angry usually destroys all progress.
Having worked in 12 foreign countries as well as all over the U.S., I’ve worked with fellow Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Shintos and possibly others. Regardless, it was never hard for us to agree to do the right thing once we all understood it.
They knew I was from the U.S., and regardless of what the U.S. government was trying to talk them into, we could agree on the right thing for that business situation. We need to be able to do the same thing right here at home.
Happy Holidays anyway!
Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com.
