There was an internet war of words. Not necessarily a memorable one. One of the many that occurs on the digital battlefield each week. It might have been between VCs and the media and their coverage of some startup. One can’t be too sure. The specific tweet with the observation couldn’t be located, ok? Still, the idea remained ingrained.

Have you ever heard of the narcissism of small differences? Coined by Sigmund Freud in 1917 (according to Wikipedia), it is..

“the thesis that communities with adjoining territories and close relationships are especially likely to engage in feuds and mutual ridicule because of hypersensitivity to details of differentiation”

Woah. When you know about the N.O.S.D. you’ll see it everrrryyywheree. Within an organization, you’ll most often see this conflict pop up between teams that share adjoining responsibilities:

Marketing always qualifies the worst leads say the Sales team.
Sales doesn’t know anything about the product say the Customer Success team.
Customer Success doesn’t know anything about the product say the Operations team.
The Operations team can’t write any code say the Engineering team.
Engineering doesn’t know anything about our customers say all the aforementioned teams.

You get the picture. What is there to do in this infinite loop of perceived incompetence? Well, there is inevitable conflict between adjoining teams. The higher performing the teams are, the MORE likely it may even become. There is hypersensitivity between hypercompetitive people.

Perhaps the goal isn’t to eliminate or spend endless time clarifying the adjoining rules of engagement. Instead, broaden the battlefield so that the focal point of hypersensitivity is externalized. The actual product performance, competitive market reception, or customer satisfaction. Externalize the details of differentiation and unite internal groups against the cause.

Also, as a manager trying to navigate these waters, take a look at the org chart. Not from top to bottom. Horizontally. Oh yeah, those org charts don’t exactly exist. Make one. Find out where the adjoining territories are so you can see the potential conflict zones before they become entrenched warfare.

After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend (say the ancients). Turn your gaze outward and embrace the common cause of struggle!