It's hardly a massive insight to say that business, politics and life in general have all become too binary, too black and white, too polarised over the course of the last decade.
In my head I'm a radical. While I haven't been on the frontlines much through my life, I passionately believe that activism, peaceful protest and non-violent resistance are essential. They shift the dialogue and lay the groundwork for progress to take place. From Peterloo to the Color Revolutions, popular protest has been a vital catalyst for permanent change that has led to better lives for many people. Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion continue that tradition. They are essential. They are laying the groundwork for vital progress in our relationships to each other and to our planet.
To build on those foundations and deliver lasting progress the heart has to take over. Shouting the message, disrupting the established flow of economic activity and daily life creates the conditions for change. But for any of that to convert, the shouting has to stop and conversation has to begin. We have to connect to and collaborate with people who do not share our political position or world view. We have to act with compassion and empathy, we have to listen deeply to recognise those different world views and where they have come from. It's this that's most vital right now. It's this that I aim to contribute to. Which is why I loved how Simon Sinek answered Richard Branson's question last week.
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