88 REAL-LEADERS.COM / SUMMER 2022 Politicians all over the world are misleading us by using fear and nationalism to divide us. By focusing on what we have in common, we have the opportunity to solve our shared challenges. Here are some ideas that promote common ground. THE POWER OF COOPERATION When you think about success in any walk of life, whether it be politics, business, or personal, one of the most important skills required to achieve this success is collaboration and cooperation. With so much disharmony and polarization in our lives, cooperation brings us together. You will have often heard the clichés of ‘many hands make light work’ or ‘two heads are better than one.’ Cooperation is about working together to achieve a result and people helping each other achieve a common goal. Why is it that cooperation is so important? What is the point of it all? Cooperation fosters a culture of innovation; it can enable progress that may not have been ordinarily achieved in isolation but which can be achieved by people pulling together towards a better outcome. Whether it be political parties crossing the divide and coming together to create better results for the people they serve or two sectors of a community coming together to improve their living situation, or even two businesses coming together to achieve progress and work towards a better outcome, cooperation is key. What people try to achieve through cooperation may not be possible in isolation. Cooperation can be difficult; it can push people out of their comfort zone. However, cooperating with others will ensure survival and progress in many different environments, including business. Cooperation can be the difference between success and failure for many companies. Through cooperation, people can become more productive, things get done more quickly and efficiently, and results can be achieved, which would not have been possible in the same timeframe had they been done in isolation. An example of what happens when people in the community cooperate is demonstrated by a community-based program called the Youth and Police Initiative (YPI). YPI is an innovative prevention program sponsored by the North American Family Institute, whose purpose was to bring atrisk youth together with local police officers to share personal stories, meals, and engage in honest and challenging conversation to facilitate real change. It began as a training program for police academy cadets to better understand youth culture. A few years later, the program expanded and brought neighborhood teens together with police officers who patrolled their streets. The initiative’s purpose was to keep vulnerable youth away from gangs, guns, violence, and death. The focus was to deal with the challenges found in By Dr. Eileen Borris COMMON GROUND “A business that seeks to work in isolation and not cooperate is a business that is opening itself up to risk — and it could be left behind.”
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