The art of productive disagreements is to ignore the specific issue at hand and, instead, figure out the underlying principle at the source of the disagreement.
Two things happen as a result –
(1) When we’re aligned on the principle, it becomes much easier to debate alternative tactics to achieve the end outcome
(2) When we’re misaligned, we can either debate it, agree to disagree, or choose to escalate further (in case this is a professional disagreement).
Either way, we’re able to make progress.
