“We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions.”

This except from Adam Grant's book called "Think Again" is chock full of compelling ideas on the need for diversity of opinion. The examples provided remind me of some of the most innovative and productive times when my teams were trying to solve problems, and the process of selection of the path forward and subsequent results were magic.

I remember one such instance with my engineering team where we had to complete a critical link of a network and the construction costs, time and impact on the public were considerable. We brainstormed and identified an alternative approach that at first blush was not the obvious option as it had never been done, yet alone approved by the regulatory agencies. We decided to proceed and carefully built our case and convinced the agency of the viability of our solution. Ultimately, we not only saved millions in construction costs, we reduced the impact on the public, and removed stress for the agencies we worked with. Most exciting for me, this new method proved a superior alternative for some environmentally sensitive areas, and was subsequently promoted by those agencies we worked with. Getting to that point was certainly not straightforward, in fact it was a bit messy, but we achieved a more holistic view of the challenges and ultimately we had a broader array of outcomes to select from. Needless to say I was, and still am proud, of that team for pursuing a better way to solve our problem and going the extra effort to ensure we did.

The planning work consisted of some spirited conversations of people committed to the best outcome and would not settle for the status quo when they knew something better was to be had. The paragraph (from the excerpt) below brought back some of those stimulating conversations, the commitment to excellence, and the possibilities in a way that raised the bar for everyone. I hope you experience the exhilarating rewards of fighting the "good fight" with a challenging team and realizing the results.

The notion of a spirited debate captures something important about how and why good fights happen... — you can quickly see that the tension is intellectual, not emotional. The tone is vigorous and feisty rather than combative or aggressive. They don’t disagree just for the sake of it; they disagree because they care. “Whether you disagree loudly, or quietly yet persistently put forward a different perspective, we come together to support the common goal of excellence.”