Disagree Better at Work: A Governor’s View on How Business Can Bridge Divides | Part I
Americans may be exhausted by nonstop conflict in our politics, but that doesn’t mean we must accept this new reality. On April 25th, Business for America held a conversation with Utah Governor Spencer Cox to learn about Disagree Better and hear from prominent business leaders on how to bridge political differences. Originated by the National Governors Association during Governor Cox’s chairmanship, the initiative has brought Americans renewed hope as Republican and Democratic governors demonstrate how to disagree without being disagreeable.
“There really is an exhausted majority out there that is hungry for something different. There’s a market failure happening with both political parties right now,” said Governor Cox. “The first political party to figure this out is going to do very well — but neither of them seem interested in it yet. But hopefully with what [Business for America] is doing and so many other bridge builders… will swing that pendulum back to where it needs to be.”
Governor Cox acknowledged that in today’s environment, there will be push back. He described the resistance that typically comes in two forms based on political persuasion. From the right, he said he hears, “Oh, you just want us to go along to get along. You just want us to agree with everyone. You don’t want us to stand by our principles.” On the other hand, he said that he hears from the left, “I’m not going to engage with those people. Those people don’t think I should exist.”
“I’m not asking anybody to go into a situation that is dangerous,” Governor Cox explained, “but far too often in modern society, we’ve associated discomfort with danger. And that’s not always the case… It’s so much harder to hate up close.”
“Be curious… and spend time with people who are different than you. You always find out that they’re not that much different from you. We may have some different political beliefs, but generally we want the same things. We love our families. We care about our country. We want to make it a better place. We just go about it in a different way.”
At the conclusion of his talk, the governor emphasized the importance of business engagement to help reduce polarization and bridge political divides. “However important you think this is, I promise it’s more important… I had the ambassador from Switzerland who pleaded with us as governors in a very powerful speech… that this polarization in the United States is destabilizing the entire world. They need a strong America because there is no one else that can fill that void. People like Vladimir Putin and countries like Iran and China are emboldened because we’re so busy fighting about things that often don’t matter… We need your help, so please stand with us.”
Inspired by Disagree Better, Business for America will be promoting business-centered activities to help bridge divides in our workplaces, our communities, and our country’s politics. Companies of all sizes, industries, and parts of the country will be invited to join activities that are a fit for their values, brands, employees, and stakeholders.
The event concluded with business leaders that shared their stories about modeling behavior to de-escalate conflict, listen to understand, and have productive disagreements. We will be sharing part two of our event recap with further insights from these business leaders and next steps!
Watch the full video on our YouTube channel.
To learn more about Business for America, visit bfa.us.
