197 Countries. One Human Story.

Did you know that fewer than 250 people on the planet have managed to visit every country in the world – all 197 of them?

To put that in perspective, more people have been to space!

I recently had the chance to meet one of those rare travellers, YouTuber and world explorer Drew Binsky, while emceeing IHG’s Annual Global Meeting in Dubai.

Drew’s one of those seize-the-day people who makes you want to pack a bag and book a flight by lunchtime. He’s endlessly curious about the world, genuinely warm. I feel very fortunate that 2025 brought our worlds together, and that I can count him, and his fabulous wife Deanna, as two of my newest friends.

During his keynote, Drew shared that after a decade of crossing borders, navigating cultures, tasting cuisines, and talking with people in places most of us will never see, his biggest takeaway wasn’t about what makes us different.

It was about what makes us the same.

Why We’re Wired to Notice Difference (and How It Divides Us)

Every day, we’re bombarded by reminders of what divides us — from headlines and social media algorithms to the very language we use in our workplaces.

Research shows our brains are wired to notice what’s different, unfamiliar, and unexpected. That instinct helped early humans dodge danger, and it’s still with us today.

Unfortunately, that also means negative headlines consistently outperform positive ones. Conflict grabs attention. And in a media landscape fighting for our clicks, that instinct has become a business model.

So when the world feels divided, it’s worth asking: is it because we’re so different – or because our attention keeps getting pulled toward difference?

The good news is that while we’re wired to detect differences, we’re not stuck there. With awareness and intention, we can override that reflex and open ourselves to connection instead.

That’s precisely the choice Drew made.

What Visiting 197 Countries Taught Drew Binsky About Humanity

Drew has travelled to places most of us only read about in the news — countries like Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

And yet, when Drew showed up with curiosity rather than assumptions, he found the same thing everywhere: people who care about their families, who take pride in their work, who offer hospitality to strangers, who laugh, who worry, who hope.

His mission now? To “uncover what makes us human through stories of resilience, kindness, and connection.”

To replace fear with curiosity. Disconnection with empathy. Stereotypes with stories.

Finding Common Ground: The Leadership Skill We’re Undervaluing

As leaders, we don’t need to visit every country to apply this insight. We just need to shift our default setting from “spot the difference” to “find the common ground.”

Here’s how:

1. Create spaces for stories, not just data

Drew didn’t reach these insights by reading reports. He reached them by talking with people. Listening. Being present.

Stories and conversations do something data can’t: they humanise. Research shows we’re more likely to remember stories, feel connected to the people in them, and even set aside our assumptions — just by hearing someone’s lived experience.

In your next team meeting, invite someone to share the story behind a decision, a mistake, or a lesson learned. Ask for the human part — not just the outcome.

You’ll notice something shift. When people hear stories, they stop seeing “the other department” or “the difficult colleague” and start seeing a person navigating complexity, just like they are.

2. Start with what’s the same, not what’s different

This came through clearly in a conversation I had earlier this year with Sharan Burrow, former ITUC leader, and Jean Oelwang of Virgin Unite. Both have spent decades uniting people around topics where people often have a high level of mistrust, disagreement or division.

From topics like ‘business for purpose’ to climate change, these two have been pioneers of finding common ground and building unlikely coalitions.

As we spoke about building momentum behind climate change and just transition, both of them spoke about the fact that they don’t begin with the science or the policy debate.

In fact most of the time you’d never even hear them use the phrases ‘climate change’ or ‘just transition’ – because they’re loaded, they have baggage and preconception that prevents genuine conversations.

They begin by listening and asking questions about topics all of us care about: the future of our communities and the future we want for our children and our health.

That’s the common ground. When we begin with what people already care about, we unlock space for deeper dialogue — even across ideological lines.

The World Gets Smaller When We Get Curious

One of my favourite quotes from Drew  is:

“When you understand the world, you understand people. And when you understand people, everything changes.”

You don’t need 197 countries’ worth of passport stamps to live that truth. We just need to practice finding common ground — at work, in conversation, and in how we lead.

To ask more questions before forming conclusions. Create experiences that bind rather than divide. To actively build a sense of “we” rather than assuming it will emerge on its own.

Because here’s what both the research and Drew’s journey show us: the more we look for difference, the more we’ll find it. But the same is true for what we share.