How to cool down hot political conversations at work

John Hope Bryant, founder, chairman and CEO at Operation HOPE, comes from a hardscrabble background where he saw family members fail at business because of hubris, so when a banker visited his classroom when Bryant was nine, he says he became a young entrepreneur, starting and failing at many businesses and developing the slogan of "take 'no' for vitamins." "Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm. [...] So my advice is to never give up, love yourself, and give back," Bryant advises.

Each former US president had favorite dishes cooks whipped up for them, including Woodrow Wilson's concoction of two raw eggs stirred up in Concord grape juice and Richard Nixon's ham mousse (the article has a recipe if you're adventurous), which tastes like "a new Cool Whip flavor and that flavor is Boiled Ham Loaf," writes Bennett Rea. The longest-running White House favorite seems to be wine jelly, which last found favor with George H.W. Bush and can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson, who served it in 1790.

On the heels of yesterday's story about how cats (especially "undomesticated" ones -- or strays) get familiar with the voices of those who take care of them, Mary S. sent in this photo of "Ricky" (named for the famous Ricky Bobby of "Talladega Nights" fame), a stray who recently adopted them and wants to move in.

Ricky will let Mary and her family pet "it" (the gender is still a mystery) but is "not comfortable with us picking it up."

I predict Mary's family will soon have a new indoor cat.

I used to be a professional political arguer (indeed, I had a job where I got paid to take a particular side and strongly argue for those ideas). It spilled into my personal life, of course, where I would argue with anyone whose opinion even slightly differed from mine.

I was truly a joy to be around -- not.

These days, I find David Dye and Karin Hurt's ideas are right on target. First, of course, we can set a boundary about political talk at work. We don't have to engage in it. However, approaching others with curiosity instead of defensiveness can go a long way to uncovering what you have in common. Once those are identified, you can begin to forge a relationship on that commonality and agree to disagree on stickier areas.

I've found that when I take this angle, I discover not just commonalities but the humanity of the other person. At our core, we all want the same thing -- security, love, acceptance and a sense that we're all part of something larger than ourselves. We all have different ideas on how best to accomplish those goals.

When I remember that, I find I want to argue less and learn more about the person in front of me.

How do you handle political topics in the office? Take the poll above or send me an email.

If this newsletter helps you, please tell your colleagues, friends or anyone who can benefit. Forward them this email, or send this link.

What topics do you see in your daily work that I should know about? Do you have praise? Criticism? Drop me a note. And don't forget to send me photos of your pets, your office and where you spend your time off.