Your Biggest Rival Is Your Best Asset

Spotify’s Rochelle King shies away from conflict. Even the idea of confrontation instills her with feelings of dread. Yet King has found that “conscientiously” introducing conflict into the design process can generate opposing opinions, new ideas, rich dialogues and important lessons. Take five steps to imbue your design process with conflict:

1. Assess the value of conflict – Before agitating workplace conflict, determine its potential impact. “Conflict is exhausting,” so ensure that you are going to battle for a worthy cause. Find out whether your colleagues are eager to expend their energies toward your desired goal. If so, define the metrics for effort...