Stress-test ideas with a ‘red team’ who provide opposition to your point of view and improve your decision-making ability.

Marc Andreessen, a legendary figure in Silicon and cofounder of Netscape, always creates a ‘red team’ to test ideas. He has found that by providing strong and persistent opposition to the prevailing point of view, a ‘red team’ improves decisions made by individuals and organizations. Providing you are open to changing your point of view in the face of better information or logic, a ‘red team’ helps you see beyond conventional wisdom, overcome cultural bias, and broadens problem-solving within your organization.

1. Every time you are strongly considering embarking on something new, create a ‘red team.’
   This ‘red team’ is a group that will provide relentless opposition to your point of view.

2. Get the ‘red team’ to provide alternate views to every facet of the proposal.
   Leave no stone unturned, even if everyone thinks the ‘stone’ in question is a good idea.

3. Be open to changing your point of view.
   Concede to better information or better logic.