During his lecture “Top Ten Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make“, Professor Jeff Pfeffer said something that made me go, “Ah!”
If two people agree on everything, then one of them is redundant.
It’s a quote from a colleague of his. What he’s saying is that constructive conflict is good, even necessary, for highly-functional teams. When team members disagree, each is forced to defend his/her position. In doing so, facts are surfaced, assumptions are challenged, alternatives are analyzed, and everyone walks away more enlightened than before.
To put it another way: two heads are better than one, right? The more diverse your team is, the greater the variety of solutions they can offer. If everyone in your team thought the same way, however, then why do you need that team? Why not just keep one person and fire the rest?
This reminds me of a quote I heard one time that went something like this: If you’re dumb, then surround yourself with people who are smart; if you’re smart, then surround yourself with people who disagree with you.
Huh! That’s a good quote too! I like that!