By Shawn Conrad, CAE

I’ve always been something of a political junkie. For years, I’ve followed congressional, senate, and presidential races and have even helped friends seek state offices. Running for office is both an honor and a humbling experience. If you ever wanted to know how people truly feel about you, both good and bad, run for a political position.

The race for the 2020 presidential election seems to be gearing up with a number of people sharing their vision in hopes they can gain some traction with potential voters. During the next two years, we will witness candidates showcasing their strengths and downplaying their weaknesses. The one trait I hope will be on full display leading up to the November 3, 2020, U.S. presidential election is civility.

As Christine Porath, last year’s IPMI Conference keynote speaker from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business put it, there is a ripple effect with people acting civil or uncivil to each other. Christine shared research that shows incivility can carry down three layers of influence. So with a U.S. population base of 325,145,963 people listening in the next 19 months, my wish is that the discourse on the run up to the election stays civil.

A three-fold ripple effect of civility sounds…really nice!

Shawn Conrad, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.