In an age when corporate executives are focused on smoothing out differences and achieving consensus, Saj-nicole Joni and Damon Beyer contend that happy workers aren’t always productive; they often become prone to boredom and complacency. While organizational harmony and strategic alignment are important, the health and wellbeing of organizations also depends on carefully constructed and constructive conflict.

In The Right Fight, Joni and Beyer turn conventional management thinking on its head, providing leaders in the fast-moving, hyper-competitive marketplaces of the 21st century with the playbook they need to orchestrate thoughtful controversy in their organizations. To be effective, battles need to be well-designed, well-fought, and subject to certain rules. Drawing from examples as diverse as Unilever, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Dell, the Clinton Administration, and the Houston Independent School System, the authors offer proven advice and guidelines for successfully introducing tension among subordinates at certain points and in certain ways.

As the authors persuasively demonstrate, right fights unleash the creative, productive potential of teams, organizations, and communities—and ultimately foster better possibilities for us all.