You're at odds with your co-founder on startup strategy. How can you find common ground?

> Clearly articulate your perspective, listen actively to your co-founder's viewpoint, and avoid accusations. > Revisit your company's core mission and values to align your strategic objectives. > Collect and analyze relevant data to support your respective arguments, fostering a collaborative problem-solving approach.

- Recognize diverse perspectives: Understand that different viewpoints are natural and valuable. - Leverage complementary strengths: Use differing opinions to generate innovative solutions. - Communicate openly: Express your thoughts clearly and calmly, while actively listening to your co-founder. - Find common ground: Focus on shared goals and values to bridge differences. - Respectful dialogue: Create a safe space for open and honest conversations.

The number one rule, something I learned from David Cohen, is "assume good intent", especially when conversations are digital. It's incredibly easy to misread tone and jump to the wrong conclusion. Assume your co-founder wants the best for the business, rather than fire off defensive or combative responses.

My old Drill Instructor used an old saying that stuck with me through my years in high tech. You have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak. Listen to your co-founder deeply, not so you can counter his/her point of view. Truly listen to what they are saying and then formulate more questions to get to the root cause/point of their argument. It's ok to disagree; in fact, it's good to have opposing points of view.

In startups, especially in tech I have seen this often with tech cofounders. One is responsible by developing the product and the other either raising money, sales and marketing. Often they come to odds over development or selling. It is best to surround your team with outside advisors with past experiences in the market, the technology, the vertical if it applies, and make sure the advisors have a tie breaker with someone who has been to the movie before.

The key is to focus on the startup's goals rather than individual preferences. Start by sitting down together and clearly defining the objectives of the startup. These objectives are the foundation—the "common ground" you both can stand on. Identify the goals that align with both your visions and those of your co-founder. Once you've outlined these shared goals, prioritize them and decide which ones to actively pursue. By aligning on the startup's core objectives and choosing goals that resonate with both of you, you can move forward cohesively and effectively.

Every objective is an opportunity, but not every objective is a priority. By defining key outcomes, with a set timeline - cofounders can evaluate together the resources needed to deploy to achieve that goal. First step is defining which objective is an priority, and ranking each objective in order of priority. In this way, resources remain lean on projects and traction is gained by consesus.

"Strategy" is defining how the company will win in the marketplace. That is always the responsibility of the CEO. Being a co-founder doesn't get you any authority beyond your accepted role in the company. Whether you agreed to be the CEO, CTO, CFO, investor or something else, each co-founder agreed to take certain responsibilities and trust others to take care of theirs. Disputes between founders are a huge red flag for investors. If you're at odds with your co-founder on startup strategy and you're not the CEO, you need to back off or leave because you're jeopardizing everyone's investment by not focusing on your own responsibilities. Founding a startup and getting it to profitability is hard enough without disruptors in the mix.

To align with your co-founder on strategy: Define shared long-term objectives reflecting your startup's core mission. Use these as a foundation for evaluating strategies. Listen actively to each other's perspectives. Seek to understand underlying concerns and motivations. Focus on data and market insights to make objective decisions. Consider bringing in a neutral third party for mediation if needed. Be willing to compromise and find middle-ground solutions. Document agreed-upon strategies to avoid future misunderstandings. Remember, a unified front is crucial for startup success. Prioritize finding common ground and moving forward together.

Don't be afraid to get an outside perspective - from peers, advisors and investors. You're unlikely to be in a unique position, so lean into the experience of others to resolve your issues - asking for help is a strength.

A great source of advice are peer networks. If you have investors, ask to speak to other portfolio companies who've experienced similar issues. Or try tapping into online communities; Landscape VC run a Slack channel called Anonymous Founders - over 2,000 entrepreneurs supporting one another on a daily basis

Founders can also turn to legal counsel for advice. Experienced counsel will have dealt with many founder and shareholder disputes (minor and major) and have insight on how to navigate the differences and implement strategies to resolve disputes if they occur in the future.

Define responsibilities. Most of the times you will be able to find common ground and align what is the best way forward. If you don't you will still have to take a decision. Make sure you have rules in place who has final say when it comes to decision time. From my experience it should be areas of expertise that define who has final say.