Too often, vigilance is exchanged for comfortable communication. Complacency is anathema to managing risk. Show me is a good line to take. In sum, healthy dissent is an important safety valve in any organization. Discussion is useful, but by itself isn t enough to manage risk.
Debates can help strip away facades, provided debaters control themselves.
Yes, dialogues are slow and don t yield decisions, but they can expose risky assumptions and illuminate problems. Merely by selecting the right communication approach, risks can be reduced inexpensively. Each technique is powerful in skilled hands and acquiring the basic skills in each area should be an organizational objective. That's a dvice as fresh and relevant today or tomorrow as it was back then. This famous US public opinion expert has written a concise account of what it takes to start and maintain the dialogue process.