{"id":10205,"date":"2016-11-13T19:05:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T03:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=10205"},"modified":"2016-12-09T10:12:55","modified_gmt":"2016-12-09T18:12:55","slug":"remarks-from-rei-ceo-jerry-stritzke-on-the-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/remarks-from-rei-ceo-jerry-stritzke-on-the-election","title":{"rendered":"United Outside: Post-Election Remarks From REI’s CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: We are sharing a verbatim transcript of a conversation between our CEO, Jerry Stritzke, and employees who asked him for his views on the events this week. They asked him, what, if anything, the REI community should do.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cToday we asked someone\u2013a veteran\u2013to come in and talk to us and our veterans at a lunch\u2026 and the subject really was about how the outdoors played a critical role in healing him\u2026 and the role that played in his life. He is working with the University of Washington (UW) medical staff to document the healing effects of the outdoors.<\/p>\n

It occurs to me that, as we move past the election, we have a nation that needs to heal\u2026<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a role that the outdoors, I believe, plays for many people\u2014myself included. It\u2019s where we are our best selves, it\u2019s where we experience life at its fullest. And it\u2019s when we go outdoors with people that I think we break down barriers and have deeper relationships\u2026<\/p>\n

And when you think about a country that is deeply divided, it sounds like a prescription for what we need in order to move forward\u2013as our best selves – as a country.<\/p>\n

I know that as I went through the day after the election I really did reflect upon and think about\u2026 you know\u2026 should I, could I\u2026 would it be helpful to really say anything.<\/p>\n

I did go to my experience as a CEO. A lot of times, how you respond and what a productive response looks like [is so important]. That influenced me to pen a letter [to employees] focused on being a positive force for the outdoors\u2026 the role that REI could play\u2026 why it was important and why that was a productive response to an election that was, you know, so divisive.<\/p>\n

On the tension out there.<\/h5>\n

Debates about \u201cwhat\u201d are almost always productive, in the end. [They are] an inherent part of what being a democracy is about\u2026 What is the right answer? What should we be doing? You really have to celebrate and embrace that difference of opinion.<\/p>\n

I think that part of the thing that made this election process particularly hard was the \u201chow.\u201d That, at times, it became very personal. And that is more difficult.<\/p>\n

I really do believe that\u2019s the place where there\u2019s an opportunity to create a more productive conversation. And for me, personally, that starts with assuming positive intent.<\/p>\n

And, as I look at the breadth of people [in this country], there\u2019s more positive intent than might meet the eye. If I start there, then how do I create as productive a conversation as I possibly can?<\/p>\n

The election has clearly demonstrated that our country really is divided in big and real ways and that there\u2019s enormous passion and angst, regardless of which side you\u2019re on. [There is] uncertainty about how do we work together as a country to get to a place which is us together versus us apart\u2026 healing will have to be a part of that.<\/p>\n

On the role of the outdoors.<\/h5>\n

I do believe the outdoors is a place where that \u201ccrisis of the moment\u201d\u2013that thing that is so big today\u2013comes into a different perspective. You know, it\u2019s calming. It gives you a different perspective, I think you realize that is where we are our best.<\/p>\n

[And] I think that\u2013almost by definition\u2013being outdoors with somebody\u2013I think puts you in a better posture to understand what you\u2019re aligned about, what you care about\u2026 so I do believe in the idea of being United Outside\u2026 that the outdoors is a place for all.<\/p>\n

And I really do believe that it\u2019s not about sides. There are people who are dyed-in-the-wool red who love the outdoors just as much as someone who is dyed-in-the-wool blue.<\/p>\n

Any time you can find commonality it\u2019s a pretty powerful place to be\u2026 and it\u2019s probably the start of a healing process or the start of the ability to have a productive dialogue.<\/p>\n

[Because] finding common ground is at the core of a productive, properly functioning process in a political democracy and finding common ground gives you the basis for stability and then to have the conversations about where there\u2019s disagreement and maybe even create permission for there to be compromise, built from that common ground.<\/p>\n

Well intended people, trying to chart a path\u2026 to the future.”<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: We are sharing a verbatim transcript of a conversation between our CEO, Jerry Stritzke, and employees who asked him for his views on the events this week. They asked him, what, if anything, the REI community should do. \u201cToday we asked someone\u2013a veteran\u2013to come in and talk to us and our veterans at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[682,610],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-10205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-rei-news","tag-united-outside"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/remarks-from-rei-ceo-jerry-stritzke-on-the-election","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"United Outside: Post-Election Remarks From REI’s CEO","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/remarks-from-rei-ceo-jerry-stritzke-on-the-election","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/remarks-from-rei-ceo-jerry-stritzke-on-the-election"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Bondi-042016-1354-3.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Bondi-042016-1354-3.jpg?fit=1500%2C662"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Paolo Mottola"}],"creator":["Paolo Mottola"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["rei news","united outside"],"dateCreated":"2016-11-14T03:05:11Z","datePublished":"2016-11-14T03:05:11Z","dateModified":"2016-12-09T18:12:55Z"},"rendered":"