Jeff Bezos’ advice for when to push back at work — and when to move on

In an era where leaders want to move quickly, you don’t want to be the one slowing everyone down.

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, wrote about the phrase “disagree and commit” in a 2016 Amazon shareholder letter under a section labeled “High-Velocity Decision Making,” and it’s been making a comeback.

While Bezos popularized the phrase, it echoes a management philosophy that goes back to the 1980s, when Andy Grove ran Intel.

Tedlow, Grove’s biographer, previously told BI that the concept of disagreeing and committing “was the essence of how he felt you should comport yourself at Intel.” The idea behind “disagree and commit” is to defend your argument and make a clear case.

However, if the team rallies around a different decision, you have to commit to it too.

Bezos argued that the use of “disagree and commit” could “save a lot of time.” “If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there’s no consensus, it’s helpful to say, ‘Look, I know we disagree on this but will you gamble with me on it?

Disagree and commit?'” Bezos wrote.

The former Amazon CEO has even used it himself, such as when his team green-lit an Amazon Studios project that he didn’t think would succeed.

Instead of continuing the back-and-forth, he disagreed but committed to the plan.

The next time you disagree with a coworker, make the case for your idea and give it your all.

Once the decision is made, though, ask yourself if there’s anything you can do to help it work better.

You don’t need to agree with every decision at your job, but everyone benefits if there’s an expectation that once a decision is made, everyone rallies behind it and tries to make it work.

This insight is drawn from Business Insider’s reporting about the origins of the “disagree and commit” phrase that Jeff Bezos popularized, and why it’s making a comeback.

Read the full story in Business Insider from Ana Altchek and Tim Paradis here.