You're debating with R&D about new client features. How do you navigate conflicting viewpoints effectively?

To navigate conflicting viewpoints between sales and R&D: 1. **Align on Customer Value**: Focus on the customer’s need and the business impact. 2. **Understand R&D’s Concerns**: Acknowledge technical or resource limitations. 3. **Propose Compromises**: Suggest MVPs or phased approaches. 4. **Stay Solution-Oriented**: Facilitate open dialogue and aim for shared outcomes. This way, you balance client needs with technical feasibility.

Listen and Understand Both Perspectives Use "Tactical Empathy" as advised in Never Split the Difference by actively listening to understand each side's interests, motivations, and constraints without judgment. Ask calibrated questions to uncover the core issues. Label their viewpoints by mirroring them back, e.g. "It seems R&D's main concern is ensuring high product quality and minimizing technical debt." Accusation audit yourself - voice their potential critiques of the sales team upfront to diffuse negativity, e.g. "You may feel we are prioritizing revenue over technical excellence."

First thing first both party should have an open mind and work towards a thoughtful disagreement adaption. Listen to each other point of view with an open mind and work towards finding the right answer or adequate solution to the issue by respecting each others point of view. Avoid interrupting one’s point of view and listen, absorb and respond.

When navigating conflicting viewpoints with R&D, it's crucial to maintain a collaborative mindset. Focus on understanding their technical constraints and limitations, while emphasizing the business value of the proposed features. Use data-driven insights to support your arguments and explore potential compromises that address both technical feasibility and business goals. Remember, effective communication and a willingness to find common ground are key to resolving conflicts and delivering innovative solutions.

Understanding the needs will be a very important task, because it can make or break the entire journey. Most of the times people do this at a surface level, but it actually requires a lot of deep dive, objective analyzing and mapping with the product. Questioning the client about the objectives and the overall approach to get the clarity. Once the required clarity is in place, a thorough documentation is needed.

The first step is to deeply understand the needs of both the client and the R&D team. Listen actively to the requirements from the client’s perspective—what problem the feature is solving for them, how it aligns with their business goals, and the urgency behind it. Then, understand the technical limitations or concerns R&D may have. By fostering an environment of openness, you can gather key insights that form the foundation of an effective discussion, ensuring that you’re not just advocating for the client but also respecting the technical feasibility and strategic direction of the product.

When I debate new client features with R&D, I do so with an emphasis on maintaining open lines of communication and, even more importantly, collaboration. I take the time to really listen to what R&D has to say. I try to understand what makes them tick and what has them worried. And believe me, they have quite a few worries. Once I have R&D's perspective down, I offer my own, which is backed up with client data and a decent amount of common sense. I try to be as clear as possible in outlining what the advantages might be if we were to pursue the features being proposed. And then I let R&D take over the conversation again.

Helping the R&D team re-look at the end users and their purpose of using the product, and identifying the gap from user's perspective. This is where clarity-filled documentation comes handy too. And tie down the objectives with the need of the features in a certain way. Explain this to the R&D team and hear them out. Ask them some questions about their thought process. Bring all the valid points together and communicate with the stakehokders.

To gain buy-in from R&D, it’s essential to clearly communicate the value the new feature offers. This includes explaining how it addresses the client’s pain points, how it will drive business growth, and why it could be crucial for product differentiation in the market. Use data, case studies, and projections to demonstrate tangible benefits. When R&D sees the potential for a positive impact on the product's success and customer satisfaction, they are more likely to be open to adapting or adjusting their roadmap to include the new feature.

With clarity and objective mapping, half of the job is done. However, solution identification and acceptance attracts some differences in the view points and it is important to address and analyse those. The critical ones should be address, while the other ones (good-to-haves) can be removed or shifted for later phases. It really help when salespeople are very proactive. That helps them get some weightage in the conversations. Collaboration always works with clarity + empathy + purpose-driven mindset. And salespeople can be those who can help both the parties come to the same page.

Rather than positioning it as "us versus them," come to the table with solutions that address R&D’s concerns. For example, if they’re worried about resource constraints, suggest phasing the feature rollout or finding third-party tools that can handle some of the development. Collaboratively brainstorm ways to minimize the workload or find alternative methods to deliver the client’s needs. Offering creative solutions that benefit both the client and R&D helps break down barriers and fosters an environment of teamwork and problem-solving.

Stay on course, mediator should be laser focus and intervene as soon as the conversation derails, use diplomacy, appreciative language to defuse aggression. The key is to take charge and bring back to the point and focus on achievable collaborative goals!

Find the Shared Mission As Jim Camp explains, center the discussion around the company's core mission and purpose that both teams can align with, e.g. "How can we best serve our customers' evolving needs?" Look for the "Black Swan" - some key piece of information or perspective that can transform the conflict, as highlighted in Never Split the Difference. The key is creating a spirit of joint problem-solving between the teams rather than adversarial posturing. With empathy, creativity, and a focus on the greater mission, conflicting viewpoints can be transformed into improved solutions

Creating alignment between stakeholders requires more than just convincing R&D—it involves active consensus-building. Invite key decision-makers from both the business and technical sides to participate in the discussion. Present the proposal in a way that highlights shared goals, whether it's increasing client satisfaction or maintaining product scalability. Facilitate an open dialogue where concerns from both sides are addressed constructively. When everyone feels heard and part of the process, it’s easier to reach a consensus that serves the best interests of the company and its clients.

Once a direction is agreed upon, it’s critical to manage expectations both internally and externally. Keep the client informed about the status of the feature, potential delays, or phased rollouts. Internally, ensure that R&D is not under pressure to deliver something beyond their capacity by setting realistic timelines and clearly defining feature scope. This prevents miscommunication and builds trust, as both the client and your internal team will feel that they have a clear and honest understanding of what’s being delivered and when.

Being proactive in communication, and keeping regular track of things from timelines and core objectives, is very important. Make it very clear to the respective team members about the respective roles and timely deadlines. And proactively conduct regular check-ins, including necessary follow-ups wherever required.

Following up is key to maintaining momentum and ensuring accountability. After discussions, check in with both the R&D team and the client at regular intervals. Monitor progress, address any emerging concerns, and keep lines of communication open. Ensure that any compromises made during the consensus-building process are upheld, and adjust as needed. Follow-ups demonstrate commitment to delivering results, foster transparency, and prevent any surprises that might derail the project at later stages, helping sustain a collaborative and productive relationship.