--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To make good decisions, CEOs need the…" description: "\"“To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out disagreement. Alfred Sloan, the longtime CEO and chairman of General Motors, once interrupte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/chip-heath-4065_courage_to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-cou_191371.png" --- # To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out… ![“To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out disagreement. Alfred Sloan, the longtime CEO and chairman of General Motors, once interrupted a committee meeting with a question: “Gentlemen, I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here?” All the committee members…” quote by Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/chip-heath-4065_courage_to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-cou_191371.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/chip-heath-4065_courage_to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-cou_191371.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/chip-heath-4065_courage_to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-cou_191371.png) > ““To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out disagreement. Alfred Sloan, the longtime CEO and chairman of General Motors, once interrupted a committee meeting with a question: “Gentlemen, I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here?” All the committee members nodded. “Then,” Sloan said, “I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what this decision is about.”” [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. CEOs should deliberately invite dissent to improve decision quality and avoid groupthink. **In simple terms:** Seek disagreement to make better choices. Key Takeaway Encourage dissent in meetings. Themes leadership decision-making conflict resolution Mood thoughtful analytical Type leadership advice When to use this quote - board meetings - strategic planning - product development - team brainstorming Key Concepts groupthink cognitive bias critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you create safe space for disagreement? - What barriers prevent honest dissent? A Different Perspective Dissent may be suppressed by hierarchy or culture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ## Related quotes > [If we are all in agreement on the decision - then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/if-we-are-all-in-agreement-on-the-decision-then-i-propose-we-postpone/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Time is a big enemy. Companies have a tendency to drift and to do what was successful yesterday. 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Yet they must also invest in sustainability and social responsibility, which then leave them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/ceos-need-to-produce-continuous-growth-in-sales-and-profits-yet-they/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [No grant of feudal privilege has ever equaled, for effortless return, that of the grandparent who bought and endowed his descendants with a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/no-grant-of-feudal-privilege-has-ever-equaled-for-effortless-return/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Although the reasons for Michigan's malaise are varied, one big reason is our state's almost uniquely uncompetitive tax structure, which one General Motors official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bouchard/although-the-reasons-for-michigan-s-malaise-are-varied-one-big-reason/) Mike Bouchard > [We knew we had to act for the middle class. 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If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [I don't hurt the industry. The industry hurts itself, by making so many lousy movies - as if General Motors deliberately put out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/i-don-t-hurt-the-industry-the-industry-hurts-itself-by-making-so-many/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [Well, as you know, General Motors does not make hybrids. Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) ## More by Chip Heath > [“It seems some CEOs who pay extremely large acquisition premiums … come to believe their own press.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/it-seems-some-ceos-who-pay-extremely-large-acquisition-premiums-come/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Regrets of the Dying.” She shared the five most common regrets of the people she had come to know: 1. I wish I’d had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/regrets-of-the-dying-she-shared-the-five-most-common-regrets-of-the/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“We are fighting a war on load times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/we-are-fighting-a-war-on-load-times/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Peter Bregman, a productivity guru and blogger for the Harvard Business Review, recommends a simple trick for dodging this fate. 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