This report reveals a decline in trust, and how majorities now hold grievances against governments, business and the rich. Historically strong trust in “my employer” is complicated when employees hold grievances.  Argues that business should respond in concert with other actors, investing in local communities, quality information, and job skills.    

Explores the history, emotion, and power of effective argumentation to promote more constructive debates and mutual learning in America. Shares key principles, including removing the focus on winning, prioritizing relationships and engaged listening, considering context, embracing vulnerability, and creating space for transformation. 

Presents a framework for when companies should present forceful or tempered political positions based on their publicly stated values and materiality.

The article maps out a non-partisan, principled conception of good corporate citizenship drawing on shared assumptions of the right and the left about the place of corporations in our society and the realities of corporate governance. That conception concentrates on how corporations’ own conduct affects the best interests of their stockholders, workers, communities of operation, consumers, taxpayers, and the environment. 

This article urges companies to actively reduce the polarization that can impact their businesses, by carefully considering their public stances, promoting inclusivity, and fostering collaboration across differing viewpoints within their organizations and communities.

Amid rising political backlash, most companies are recalibrating—not abandoning—their ESG and DEI agendas. This piece highlights a shift toward quieter, stakeholder-focused strategies rooted in authenticity, measurable impact, and alignment with business goals. It notes how terms like “ESG” are being replaced with less politicized language, and how scenario planning and coalition-building are helping leaders navigate polarized environments without losing credibility.

Patricia McLagan is an author, consultant, and business owner with fifty years’ experience supporting large scale change processes in business and governments globally. From 1983 through 2004, Pat consulted with major South African businesses, government entities, universities, and parastatals, and chaired the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation after returning to the US. This article draws on her personal experience with South African businesses and government entities from 1983 into the 2010s, focusing on what some white South African business leaders did in a time of polarization and potential civil war. 

Advances the argument that American CEOs, seemingly more powerful today than ever, have abrogated the key leadership role they once played in addressing national challenges, with grave consequences for American society. 

This continuing education online course by The Laboratory for the American Conversation is designed to help you understand how to have contentious conversations that don't escalate into the culture wars that have become all too common. You can apply this in your workplace and with family and friends.