I really love to debate. But I hate to debate much about my work. It didn't used to be this way. What I've learned is philosophical debates are a certain path to no where in most discussions. Moreover, these debates are often fueled more by emotion than facts.

So what to do?

Well, an interesting thing about these debates is the way they start. They usually start off something small. "Should we use a gray button or a red button?". You have never been a fan of the gray color. Your cofounder loves the gray. Moreover, you both consider this to be a big deal. You think gray is boring. Your partner thinks red is ugly. Upto this point it is okay because both you and your cofounder are clearly just expressing opinions. But this is where it'll take a twist: now your cofounder will introduce a study that says gray is better. Suddenly, you're defensive and you go on your own hunt to find the study that proves your color to be better. And before you know it, you are trying to hunt flaws in your partner's study. He does the same to yours. 

Where is all this heading? No where. At its worst, a rift between you and your cofounder.

Here's how I've started dealing with it: the moment I realize that the debate has turned emotional, I'll just shut up and put the decision on hold for the moment. At this point, neither me nor my partner can be objective about the decision. We both came in with preconceived ideas. The debate just reinforced our own ideas many times more tainting our ability to make a logical decision. Return to square one: what color should this button be? 

Before you can answer it, you should ask "does it matter what color this button is?". This will lead you to ask yourself what "matter" means. In our case, it often means "does the button impact sales?". If so, how can we objectively find out the best color for the button? Simple: a/b testing. If the button has little to no impact, toss a coin and go with a color.