I think the author hits on an important point under the "Common Ground" section: discussions should be collaborative, not argumentative. If you're trying to make a decision with a "me vs. you" mindset, the decision won't get made. Instead, try to frame it as an "us vs. the problem" situation, which helps everyone contribute and work multiple angles to find the best solution, keeping multiple considerations in mind -- including code "quality".

If anyone's interested in more on this, I wrote a short Medium post on other strategies for making better technical decisions: https://medium.com/@cjcenizal/seven-strategies-for-resolving....