CEO trusted by Jay-Z, Google exec says 'conflict' is the key to success: 'It's OK to disagree'

CNBC

2 days ago

It might sound counterintuitive, but conflict and disagreement are two essential ingredients to a business' success.
That's according to marketer, entrepreneur and music executive Steve Stoute, who counts Jay-Z, McDonalds, the New York Knicks and Google's Lorraine Twohill among the many big names that have relied on his expertise. In an interview with The New York Times, Stoute said that "there's something wrong" if a business has "no conflict."
"Getting people comfortable around challenge in a respectful way is a very important value," he said. "What I'm trying to do is have people embrace the idea that it's OK to disagree."
The 54-year-old encourages healthy conflict within his teams by keeping it top-of-mind. Because video conferencing software like Zoom "allows you to avoid conflict," Stoute said he makes sure to talk about its importance the same way he would talk about any other part of running a business.
"The same way I talk about bonuses or health care or wins or losses, we talk about conflict," he said. "If tension gets overlooked, then the company will not reach its full potential."
Indeed, Stoute's thoughts on conflict are backed by experts. Robert Bordone, the founder and former director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program, told CNBC Make It earlier this year that it is better to embrace conflicts and learn to navigate them rather than to avoid them entirely.
"The work of being conflict resilient is entering into a landscape that doesn't have a script because it's motivated by a sense of curiosity about something of the other person," he said.
Having a conflict or a disagreement is different from having a fight. Kurt Gray, a social psychology professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, told CNBC Make It that the best approach is to think of a disagreement as a conversation rather than as "a chance to score points or try to make the other person look stupid."
Gray recommended taking the time to understand the other person's motivation and learning how they came to their conclusion before explaining why you disagree.
"Establishing a connection with someone, seeing them as a fellow human being, I think it goes a long way," Gray said.
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