• by Jason Heller , January 17, 2012

Are you passionate about the positions you take on digital marketing issues? Do you question the biases of the research you use, or the methodologies of the testing and optimization approaches employed by your agency? What about the validity and value of the targeting data used by your media and ad tech partners? How often do you engage in debates with your colleagues?

If you're not engaging in healthy debates with your colleagues and partners every so often, then you're not pushing yourself and your team hard enough and not progressing your marketing programs to their potential.

Intelligent debates provide the vital stimulation that can open your eyes to new perspectives and spark new ways of thinking and creative problem solving. In an industry full of black-box technologies and overenthusiastic promises, complacence and blind acceptance is the enemy of progress.

With all the qualitative nuances of digital marketing, the chances of everyone being on the same page, about every topic, all the time, are slim -- and how boring would that be anyway?

Of course, there is sometimes a fine line between a healthy debate and an uncomfortable confrontation. Don't be that person. Nobody enjoys working with someone who goes out of their way to be confrontational. Be confident in your knowledge and passionate about your position and your ideas, but debate your position with humility and an open mind. Be willing to agree to disagree. Be willing to concede your position, or compromise and incorporate components of others' counterpoints into your own ideas. Strive to let the best ideas and strategies emerge by challenging the status quo and allowing your positions to be challenged. What are some of the hot topics that you've debated recently? Share them in the comments or hit me on Twitter @jasonheller.