Politics in Business
Posted by Sadie Lulei
This past weekend, Lukas and I took a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, in hopes of retrieving a new client. The client made it very clear they were on the more conservative side of the political scale, a red hat on a shelf as proof. Lukas wasn’t afraid to joke back that we were more democratic, noting specifically that I, myself, am a Bernie Sanders fan. Laughter and nods were all that followed that conversation, and here’s why.
Most people aren’t going to agree with you. While it may seem that’s the case because others think you’re wrong, the truth is that we each own an individual experience in this world. Personally, I would’ve expected this political stance from a business owner in a southern state. See, each person has their own upbringing, environment, and needs. No one candidate can solve those for every single citizen.
It’s troubling to me that some people believe in only working with like-minded people. It’s likely you’ll face just as many disagreements, so therefore you’re mostly just losing something by doing so. You’re losing perspective. If we avoid people whose beliefs differ from our own, then how could we empathize with others? All I know is that to do our business the best we can, Algorithmic Global doesn’t look at anything as black or white. We understand everything, especially opinions and identity, as a spectrum. That means yes, we can work with someone who isn’t standing beside us on the spectrum. In fact, we tend to purposefully look for people in different areas of life to work with. We’re trying to grow and learn.
Let’s note that things can be far more complicated than that. The world is certainly in a tricky situation right now due to political disagreements within many governments. However, citizens are still going to make decisions based on what benefits them in their specific situation. We’d rather talk and try to understand why people make the decisions they do, rather than write them off for making them.
Conclusion? Yes, politics are complex. And yes, we want to understand you no matter what politics you hold. As long as you have a value you truly believe in, we’ll find a way to make it work. In the end, isn’t that more likely to destroy the polarization of politics anyways?
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