Political pundits have focused much attention lately on the divergent opinions of the Obama Afghanistan policy-setting team. In analyzing the Administration’s performance, commentators have raised many questions. Is there a coherent Afghanistan strategy? Is the team on the same page? Does Obama want different points of view? Can the U.S. secure the support of our NATO allies, the Karzai government, Afghani tribal heads, et al?  Will other team members be fired?

For business leaders, this debate highlights a management challenge. While there are factual differences between this foreign policy situation and those that corporate executives confront, the fundamental question remains the same: how to harness divergent points of view to create a coherent, executable strategy. To paraphrase Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, the neighborhood is new, not the issues. 

History, both world and economic, can teach us about how to, and not to, use differing points of view to hone an implementable action plan for a team.  Continue reading…