A Third Way to Make Decisions
I’ve been the victim of disastrous decisions made from “on high” – well-meaning corporate types who had no idea how their dictates impacted operations at the local level. And not all were disastrous, but many were ill-conceived, not very practical, or at times, bewildering and laughable.
I’ve also been the corporate type – struggling to make one decision that served many, being blind to the specific nuances and awed by the complexity of implanting something across large global organizations.
And too, I’ve suffered through my fair share of mind-numbing meetings attempting to get to consensus. And been a part of way too many projects that were stalled as key decisions were held hostage to the notion that a consensus must be reached.
I’ve also led my fair share of meetings trying to get to consensus. Often successful if the issue was minor or the culture was compliant. Often frustrated if the issue was major or the culture was one that pushed back.
And no matter whether leading decisions, or participating in consensus decision making, often experiencing decisions that were watered down or awkwardly cobbled together or crafted to the least common denominator.
And so I cheered as I read Fredric Laloux’s new book, Reinventing Organizations, where he described a third way of organizational decision making – the advice process.