A company’s rise can teach us much about problem-solving

It’s been said, by legendary poet Robert Frost no less, that “Good fences make good neighbors.”

Founding father Benjamin Franklin offered a somewhat similar view, exhorting his fellow rebels to “Love thy neighbor – but don’t pull down your hedge.”

A fence or a hedge would come in handy when facing the not-so-neighborly of today’s “civilized” society, which seems bent on deepening the divide that is threatening to derail much of the progress that mankind has made over the past two centuries.

What the world needs now, perhaps more than ever in light of the political polarization that has engulfed us, is a collective determination to bring pragmatic solutions to bear on key issues we’re facing.

Seems simple enough, especially considering the remarkable advances we have made in just the past 50 years on the technology, medical, engineering, energy, and environmental fronts that have pushed the boundaries of the possible.

Look no further than one of the longtime darlings of Wall Street, a company founded in 1976 by two college dropouts that goes by the name of “Apple.” In 2018, it became the first company in the world to break the trillion-dollar barrier in value, doubling that mark within the span of two years.

Its rise to prominence – and dominance – is on the scale of mind-boggling, fueled largely by a vision to make Apple products “user-friendly” and small enough that they could fit in a pocket, a purse, a backpack, or, even better yet, on a wrist.

Apple’s upward trajectory sky-rocketed in 2007 with the introduction of the iPhone, the touch screen cell phone that revolutionized the way we communicate with each other. It was the game-changer that continues to drive much of the company’s growth, some 15 years after it came into the marketplace.

So, you might be wondering, what does a company like Apple have to do with our current political plight?

Plenty.

It is a shining example of teamwork, and how marshalling forces and talents toward a common goal can make the impossible suddenly become quite possible, such as when a smartphone was developed that harnessed as much computing power in a hand-held device as the mega-sized mainframes of yesteryear. That, in and of itself, is astonishing and reflects the power of the human mind when it decides to do good.

Good, of course, has been in short supply in recent years, when greed and evil have elbowed their way back into our daily lives at an alarming level. What we are seeing now on the political landscape is a reversal of our evolution as a civilized society, which hinges on a full embrace of the concepts of “civil” and “civility.”

Those words are at the backbone of the legal profession, which prides itself as being the foremost ambassador for helping resolve disputes peacefully and respectfully while bringing stakeholders together in finding a way forward.

The recently created Primerus Foundation aims to be a positive force in promoting the need for a shift in thinking – vowing not to be a flamethrower or polarizing figure, but instead to be an instrument of change by utilizing kindness, understanding, respect, and tolerance for the beliefs of others.

With that shift, what a world we can be in the years ahead, hopefully putting to an end society’s tenuous relationship with the truth.

Best regards,
Jack Buchanan, President