Apparently so, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal reporting on a study undertaken to explore whether political diversity in the Csuite impacts a company's performance. While the study didn't have a clear explanation for why political diversity was useful (it clearly was), decision-makers with different viewpoints seem to have the same beneficial impact on problem-solving in today's world as other diverse attributes, such as gender, race, life experience and background. One of the study's authors concluded that companies with a politically diverse leadership make better strategic decisions -- which results in better performance over the long term. Why do they make better strategic decisions? I'm sure there is a scientific, data-driven answer to that question but better decisions surely result from challenging assumptions, discarding stereotypes and offering alternative points of views. If a group's decision-makers are confident enough to hear each other out in a civil and respectful way, then diverse viewpoints surely lead to better-built results.
{ Collaborating with those of differing political ideologies isn't just good for the health of our democracy. It's also beneficial to a portfolio's bottom line.
WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-politically-bipartisan-c-suite-may-b
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