A Liberal and a Conservative Walk Into a Bar
And they buy it. Because they actually make perfect partners. And no, this isn’t a joke. It’s a true story.
A liberal and a conservative walk into a bar. And they buy it.
They buy it, because they’ve been longtime friends, and had been looking for a good opportunity to build something together. Something they could be proud of. That could be fun, would support their families, and allow them to be an integral part of the community they call home.
They buy it, because they have varying skill sets and mindsets. Ones that, while different, work to compliment one another. Balance out one another’s weaknesses and blindspots, creating a much more sound, more powerful business than if either had gone in alone.
They do it because it’s the best possible scenario, for everyone involved.
Because it makes sense to work together.
So if that’s the case, if working together makes sense, then what are we doing so wrong?
People first, politics second
They grew up together, on the same block. Families were friends. They skinned knees playing in their youth, skipped class rebelling in their teens.
One was a dreamer, full of lofty, imaginative ideas. An eye for beauty and innovation. An artist and adventurer at heart.
Also, he smoked a lot of weed.
The other one was the schemer. The planner. The “go getter.” A hustler, with a keen mind for business, and a knack for putting things into action.
Also, he sold a lot of weed.
They grew up, went their seperate ways, as we all do. To separate schools, where their paths diverged, but they remained friends. Holidays and the occasional weekend they’d get back together, reminisce over a few beers at the local pub.
At the same time, their politics also split. And of course they did. They spent a lot of time around different people, whose areas of education and exposure often mirrored their own.
There’s plenty of data and science to predict, pretty accurately, how people’s politics and ideologies will align, based on the way their minds and brains work. And I’m sure there are examples, probably in your own life, where what people are and do, and how they vote, just seems to “make sense.”
And these guys are no different. One’s penchant for art and music, and his general openness towards others, landed him into more liberal circles.
And the others business skills, conscientiousness, and calculating nature aligned him with more conservative ideas.
Neither of them right. Neither of them wrong. Both of them simply living in the truth of what makes sense to them. So yes, they definitely have differences. Huge ones. Economic, Social, Political. You name it, they’ve argued about it.
But they’ve also talked about it. Laughed about the more ridiculous extremes of both parties. Listened to one another’s opinions, and tried to see where the other was coming from.
Do they always succeed? Hahahaha. Not at all.
But they try. And that’s the first, most important step in them finding, and maintaining, respect for one another and their ideas. Because even if they’re different, even if they don’t always land on the same solutions, the friends still have the fundamentally same goal:
To lead a meaningful, prosperous life, enjoy time with their friends and family, and live in a safe and peaceful world.
Collaborating on strengths, not stonewalling on differences
Because they move from that mutual place of respect, genuine care for their friend, and wanting their shared business to thrive, they’ve always worked to focus on the strengths in their differences, not the snags and snares that might cripple the enterprise.
And it is work. But once you move past the differences, there are a lot of strengths.
The conservative is great at reigning his friend in, out of the clouds, and back to reality. The books. The payroll. The day to day operations.
The liberal, on the other hand, can help pull his friend out, to explore and expand his vision, to try new things. Toward the big picture, and the possibilities that lie ahead.
And sure, the conservative friend has his own vision and talents, and the liberal understands the nuts and bolts of what’s needed to succeed. Neither has a monopoly on a particular way of thinking, or is a monolith.
But their ability to push one another forward, physically and emotionally, are the gears that help the partnership turn smoothly. Different parts that fit together well, moving them toward a common purpose.
Practice makes perfect
So they did it. Put their money where their mouths were, and a few years ago, went all in.
They bought an older, existing space in the town they grew up. The same one, ironically, that they would often meet up at for beers.
They loved it’s history, it’s architecture. Their connection to it. It was a little kitschy, but that was part of the appeal. The people that owned it were a local family, now older and looking to retire, to pass the business on.
The conservative friend wanted to keep a lot of it the way it was. It was already successful, respected. It had a great boozy brunch people would line the block for on weekend mornings, and drink specials that would pack the patio on hot summer nights.
It was a safe investment. A smart one. Just get in, turn the key, and start it up.
The liberal also loved what was working, but saw room for improvement, and an opportunity to gain some new customers and friends. As the world moved forward, this place took its sweet time getting there. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, was actually a lot of what they liked, there were also much needed updates. Antiquated systems that were detrimental to offering quality service. No real internet presence, which was increasingly becoming an issue. And it’s older crowd had a reputation for being hostile to the younger, “out of towners”.
So together, they went to work. They looked at the place in its entirety, and parceled out responsibility accordingly. Each one took on the things they excelled at, and they’d then come together to share ideas, and discuss and debate which ones would move forward.
And no, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Business, as we all know, is brutal. No matter how well people work together, regardless of how much respect is involved, there are always issues that arise. Especially with friends.
Sometimes things even get heated. And politics may still creep in, especially during a volatile election season. But what remains important, and the secret to their success, is that these two continue to honor their commitment to one another and, as much as they can, move from that common place of respect and understanding. To trust one another strengths, and allow their shared vision, not their differences, to move them forward.
And to this day, I’m happy to tell you, they’re doing great. Constantly exceeding expectations. The bar remains a local favorite. The current pandemic, terrible as it was for businesses all over, hit them hard, but also offered them an opportunity to regroup. Spend time with family. They even put on a patio extension they’ve been planning for years, but never pulled the trigger on.
And while they may not agree on everything, and often make serious compromises to keep things running smooth, theres one thing they’ve decided was definitely a non negotiable:
No news on the TV’s.
