Kinder Foundation team members recently attended the Greater Houston Partnership’s 2023 annual meeting. We had the honor of hearing from Dr. Marc L. Boom, board chair-elect of Greater Houston Partnership and CEO of Houston Methodist, who spoke about the importance of responsible leadership in an ever-partisan world.

Dr. Boom shared that the “irresistible siren call today in our country is constant, unnecessary conflict and disagreement. Our political parties can’t resist this siren song, our press can’t resist this siren song, and most people can’t resist this siren song.”

The antidote, he wisely urges Houston’s business and community leaders, is to be more like Odysseus, “portrayed by Homer as wise, eloquent, resourceful, courageous, a voice of reason and self-restraint.” Dr. Boom says, “we must be wise leaders who use a focus of the culture in our institutions and in our communities to improve the world we live in. We have a profound responsibility to bring and model balance and moderation to our communities.”

Find the entirety of Dr. Boom’s impactful and important speech below.