Hi Team,
As many of you know, this newsletter was never intended to be political. But there are certain cultural events that are so significant, it's impossible to escape them.
The party line to this most recent tragedy is that violence is never the answer. But that only leaves us asking: what exactly is the question?
Scroll social media and you’ll see the world is chasing some version of "how do we create more unison,” to which a swarm of AI driven bots respond with a flood of negative comments.
Not exactly the stuff of progress.
But given this is a marketing newsletter, I'll take a different tack and look at the cultural divide through our everyday work.
"How do we prevent the "pick-a-side" culture from poisoning our workplaces?"
The answer is simple: we must build coalitions and do what we can to avoid factions.
The work, well, that’s the hard part.
The Challenge: External Division Infiltrates Everything
Most companies expect, maybe just hope, they can create a culture that exists separately from the outside world. But here's the reality: while our mission statement looks great on the wall, which sits next to the values, which is beside the free cold brew, the mission statement only says what we intend to accomplish. It is society that tells us how to act.
Sure, we are getting paid to ostensibly ignore the noise and focus on the company's goals. But we cannot expect people to digest divisive messages on our devices, media, and in their everyday lives and not have that energy drift into brick-and-mortar or company laptops.
Coalitions vs. Factions
Great teams define themselves by the results they create together. They don't look so much at their competition but rather their former selves. They define their work through success, and for them:
Success isn't about finding commonalities
Success is about sharing common goals
Success isn't a competition between others
Success is what happens when teams build ordinary systems that create unique results
In a divided world, when the truth is fleeting, consensus is all we have. The lure of being part of a successful team should invigorate anyone looking to escape the divide and who is currently not sure where to turn.
To do this, we should distinguish groups from teams and factions from coalitions. Here are the key differences as I see them:
Coalitions unite around common goals while embracing different approaches
Factions seek dominance and view the world as a confined space
Coalitions ask "who else finds this work meaningful?"
Factions ask "what's dividing us from leadership?"
The good news: these are behavior driven, they aren't part of someone's core identity. We need to make it harder for factions to form and easier for coalitions to be built.
Easy enough right?
I got it. But here’s something further to consider…
The Opportunity: The Workplace as a Unifying Force
Countless startups have created a culture where people have at least one thing in common: the drive for team success rather than a place to host divides.
Pixar is perhaps the most famous example. The motto of their internal training program uses the latin phrase "Alienus Non Diutius"—alone no more—and the office was originally arranged so that designers and programmers interacted considerably more with each other.
The Pixar University Crest bearing the Alienus Non Diutius motto the company embraced.
Yes, Pixar is a major company. But there was a time when it was just a bunch of really good teams. They established environments where diverse minds could create meaningful impact through a shared mission, requiring only commitment to common goals rather than alignment on personal beliefs.
Too idealistic? An excuse for companies to overwork us?
That's matter of perspective and up for you to decide.
You can view all of this as a pathway to a cult. Or you can see the workplace as a series of teams united in something bigger than ourselves, a purposeful, intentional break from a world that wants all of us to think the same.
And you can choose to foster that change. Here’s how.
Next Steps
To build more effective coalitions at our companies, starting tomorrow:
Build Conversations around shared outcomes, not shared grievances: We all vent. But if we find ourselves bonding more over what's wrong than what's possible, we're missing opportunities to build the kind of relationships that drive real change.
Curate, don't broadcast: Inclusion without inefficiency is tricky. Before sharing updates, we should ask: 'Will this help us avoid a problem, make a better decision, or spot an opportunity?' If not, please save everyone's time. Another alternative—don't listen to me—ask your team how they want to be included. The goal isn't finding the perfect system; it's finding a better one together.
Lead with with how we create value: Don’t just repeat your title. "I help prospective employees immediately understand our company mission" or "I communicate to potential customers how current customers use our product and what feedback systems we have in place.”
The Marketer's Advantage
We do not find success as a team by pursuing success, but through the satisfaction of building rewarding routines and productive habits as a coalition. That may not fit on a bumper sticker, but I’ve found it to be true. The best part is, as marketers, we already think in terms of audience unity, shared values, common aspirations. We understand that the most powerful messages don't divide—they unite people around something bigger than themselves.
Yes, we wouldn’t be very fun at parties if we didn't respect the fact that these are trying times and people have real beliefs that matter. But we should consider how our company can help provide an outlet for this uncertainty, we’ll call it.
Can we be a unifying force and a source of shared meaning?
Can we share common values that don't concern politics or our personal beliefs, but rather focus on our ability to contribute to something memorable?
If we don’t put this into practice and just remain idle, we may not end up adding to the divisiveness, but we will most certainly remain stuck in the disarray.
I’m interested in what you have to say about all of this. As always, respond to this email directly and share your thoughts. I will respond.
As Ever,
Paul Nyhart
Chief Connection Officer - Hi Team
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