Respecting Each Other For Our Differences.

Recently there has been a great deal of coverage around the case involving Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. One of the things that has amazed me the most is all of the debate on TV news shows between individuals that are clearly on opposite sides of the table. It is good to see two opposite sides come together to try to constructively understand opposing views. It takes a great deal of maturity to use such difficult circumstances to learn some lessons that could move our future forward in a more positive direction. Most of the time, no single side is totally right with the best solutions often coming from somewhere in the middle, which Steven Covey refers to as "the 3rd alternative."  

In my own business, we now partner with companies who are also our competitors on any given day. We have found it necessary to partner on projects that no one company could deliver service on. There was a day when I thought we had very little in common with most of these other companies. But in working with them, I have found that we are much more alike than we are different. We all provide places where people come to work so they can provide for their family's basic needs. We all try to do a good job serving customers with the information we have. By coming together, everyone benefits, our companies get a piece of business we might not be able to otherwise and the customer gets the best of both. 

I read recently about how the average person, from anywhere around the world, essentially wants the same few things. Whether you are Muslim, Christian or Atheist, black, white or somewhere in between, conservative, liberal or any of the other differences we use to define “them” and “us”, most of us want the same things. We may disagree on the right way to get there, but the heart’s desires look much the same. We want a safe, reliable and fair place to work to make money for the things our families need. In our world, whatever that may comprise, we want safety, security and a voice. We want to be loved, respected, understood and cared for. And we want our children to have the same or better than we had. I think the world could be a much different place if we took time every single day to see ourselves in other people, to note where we are the same, to find our common ground and to see our differences as an opportunity to find the middle ground.