Forget Alignment - Chase Clarity

Written by Adrian Maharaj

(Views mine, Not Google’s.)

Why premature consensus is a false comfort, and why bold perspective—offered early—is how we actually move

Alignment has become a false god.

In modern organizations, we treat it like the gold standard of progress:

✔ Everyone on the same page.

✔ Everyone agrees.

✔ No tension, no dissent.

Sounds efficient. But it’s a trap.

Because alignment isn’t progress—especially when it’s forced too early.

In fact, it’s often what slows us down the most.

Clarity ≠ Consensus

Alignment tells you people agree.

Clarity tells you what they actually think.

And until we create space for honest disagreement—without performative politeness—we won’t build anything that lasts.

Most teams chase consensus because it feels safe.

But it’s clarity that moves the work forward.

And clarity is earned—not through silence, but through friction.

If you’re not willing to say the uncomfortable thing, you’re not building—you’re complying.

In Product Partnerships, This Isn’t Optional

We operate at the collision points:

• Product vs. partner demand

• Engineering vs. commercial ambition

• Roadmap vs. reality

We aren’t here to fit in. We’re here to bridge the gaps.

That means asking harder questions. Surfacing the unspoken tradeoffs. Challenging defaults—even when it’s inconvenient.

If we wait for alignment from every stakeholder before we move, we’ll never ship anything meaningful.

By the time everyone nods, the moment’s gone.

Perspective Over Permission

This is the shift.

You don’t need permission to think. You need the courage to speak—especially when it’s early, especially when it’s risky.

We don’t need more people waiting to be looped in.

We need more people brave enough to offer a point of view before they’re sure it’s right.

Even if it’s half-baked.

Even if it contradicts the room.

Even if it starts with, “This might be wrong, but…”

Because it’s in those moments that assumptions get exposed.

Clarity gets built.

And momentum becomes possible.

You Will  Be Wrong

That’s the uncomfortable truth.

You’ll push an idea that doesn’t land.

You’ll advocate for something that fails.

You’ll ask for what isn’t feasible.

But if you’re unwilling to be wrong, you’ll never be original.

You’ll orbit safe opinions and pre-approved thinking.

And the work will suffer for it.

We need to normalize being wrong. Normalize the tension. Normalize the pivot.

That’s what actual growth looks like.

It’s not clean. It’s not linear.

It’s hard conversations, partial wins, rewrites, and re-decisions.

That’s how strong systems—and strong people—are built.

What This Looks Like in Practice

So here’s the real shift I’m asking of us:

Stop asking: “Are we aligned?”

Start asking:

 – “What are we assuming?”

 – “What’s missing?”

 – “Where do we disagree?”

Don’t delay your thinking until it’s bulletproof.

Share it while it’s raw—that’s when it’s most useful.

Don’t aim to be right.

Aim to be clear, and aim to learn fast when you’re not.

For your sake and everyone else’s - stop pretending to be offended.

Clarity over consensus.

Perspective over permission.

Movement over agreement.

That’s how we build faster.

That’s how we build smarter.

And that’s how we build trust—not through silence, but through bold, respectful tension.

This isn’t a call for chaos.

It’s a call for conviction.

The kind that makes people pause.

The kind that creates motion.

The kind that makes the room sharper.

We don’t need more agreement.

We need more honesty.

So bring your voice.

Say the thing.

Be early. Be loud.

And let’s move.

— Adrian

(Views expressed here are my own.)