There are many such useful ideas in Charlan Nemeth's In Defense of Troublemakers, her study of dissent in life and the workplace. But if this one alone takes hold, it could transform millions of meetings, doing away with all those mushy, consensus-driven hours wasted by people too scared of disagreement or power to speak truth to gibberish.-Wall Street Journal
We like to get along, at home or in the workplace. We don't want to hurt people or offend. Therefore, it is no surprise that numerous famous psychological experiments have proven that we don't tend to go against authority or the majority view. Famous management gurus share the view that harmony, cohesiveness and agreement are the building blocks for effective decision-making and creativity. But they are wrong. In "No!", Charlan Nemeth, the world's leading expert on dissent, uses her 35 years of research to show why we need rebels - and how fostering more disagreement and arguments can dramatically improve decision-making and the production of good ideas. Using examples from "Twelve Angry Men" to brainstorming, she explains how people with minority opinions need the space to express themselves uncompromisingly, even if it causes discomfort and conflict. Explaining why the devil's advocate technique doesn't work and why authentic disagreement is necessary to open our perspectives, this book has the power to revolutionise business, creative organisations, and society