title: How to pick a good fight.
abstract: Peace and harmony are overrated. Though conflict-free teamwork is often held up as the be-all and end-all of organizational life, it actually can be the worst thing to ever happen to a company. Look at Lehman Brothers. When Dick Fuld took over, he transformed a notoriously contentious workplace into one of Wall Street's most harmonious firms. But his efforts backfired--directors and managers became too agreeable, afraid to rock the boat by pointing out that the firm was heading into a crisis. Research shows that the single greatest predictor of poor company performance is complacency, which is why every organization needs a healthy dose of dissent. Not all kinds of conflict are productive, of course -companies need to find the right balance of alignment and competition and make sure that people's energies are pointed in a positive direction. In this article, two seasoned business advisers lay down ground rules for the right kinds of fights. First, the stakes must be worthwhile: The issue should involve a noble purpose or create noticeable--preferably game-changing--value. Next, good fights focus on the future; they're never about placing blame for the past. And it's critical for leaders to keep fights sportsmanlike, allow informal give-and-take in the trenches, and help soften the blow for the losing parties.
authors.affiliation: Cambridge International Group, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. saj@camix.com
authors.forename: Saj-nicole A
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Joni
authors.forename: Damon
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beyer
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D009042:Motivation; D010559:Personnel Management / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States