Do Not 'Agree to Disagree'

That's just called avoiding the issue. There’s a better way to handle disagreements—and for the guys behind Smart Passive Income, it became their guiding principle.

- JASON FEIFER

When Pat Flynn disagreed with people, he knew what to do: Agree to disagree, and move on. Isn't that how W civilized people act? he thought. Value productivity over endless fighting?

But back then, Flynn was a solopreneur running his company Smart Passive Income. Eventually it grew beyond his abilities, so he talked with frequent collaborator Matt Gartland about forming a new company. Gartland came with a lot more partnership experience-he'd been a founder six other times, so he had seen what worked and what didn't.

That's why, when Flynn and Gartland eventually disagreed on something, Gartland wouldn't let Flynn simply move on. They cannot agree to disagree, he said. They must instead disagree and commit.

"That creates a healthy relationship," Gartland says.

"It was revolutionary to me," Flynn says.