Growing up in a “purple” household prepared me well for the experience of living in a “purple” state. My family is an opinionated bunch, and our spirited political discussions were the backdrop of my youth. It wasn’t until I got older, though, that I fully appreciated the importance of listening to people with diverse perspectives. As an adult, I have come to fully realize that if we truly listen to one another we often all share the same basic values, even though we may differ in our approach to solving problems.
This lesson has been pervasive in my adult life. I’ve learned to always seek out different perspectives, knowing I’ll gain new understanding of issues.
At CCMU, we make it a priority to seek out diverse perspectives, too. We try hard to reach out to people with different opinions and regularly ask for input from a variety of sources. We strive to not only seek insights from outside our huddle of usual suspects, but we also strive to make CCMU an approachable place where people who want to explore ideas can feel the freedom to think with us.
Our Health Policy Committee is a great example—this summer, CCMU staff interviewed a number of people across a variety of fields as part of a strategic planning process. Even after completing the interviews, people are still bringing ideas to us!
It is meaningful to think through problems and solutions with people who share diverse perspectives. When everyone has the same perspective, decisions are certainly easier, but they don’t challenge us to think more broadly and with more imagination.
It takes hard work and a lot of time to genuinely engage diverse perspectives in our work. Time and resource constraints are always an issue, but we are convinced that it is the rainbow of perspectives in our “purple” state that makes Colorado a leader in so many ways. We pledge to keep trying to engage diverse perspectives as we work together to improve our health care system. We hope you will hold us to this pledge and we hope you will join us.
