The Offramp to Consensus

Happy Friday,

In the early days of our consulting firm, the five founders, having an equal stake, made business decisions as a group. When decisions were tough, whoever cared the most would argue the strongest, and those caring less would tend to go along to get along. Fred, a bit older and the only Stanford grad, was the most easy-going. Stanford grads have a reputation.

In one particularly memorable meeting, long, protracted hand-wringing over some problem finally resulted in a consensus, and we were very ready to move on when Fred suddenly spoke up.

“Alright, I have something to say,” he announced.

Surprised, we all turned his way as he sat straight in his chair and put both hands on the table. The room fell silent, Fred paused, then, with a sudden surge of force, said:

“That is the WORST idea I’ve heard in my entire life!”

We were FLOORED! Shocked. And then curious as hell…

Fred laid out why the better plan was the exact opposite of what we had all just laboriously agreed to. At first, his plan sounded a little ‘out there,’ which may be why none of us had gone there in our quest for consensus. But Fred skillfully distilled the problem to first principles, aligned his solution with our company mission and values, and made an airtight, albeit counter-intuitive argument. It was a proof set.

I was both impressed and embarrassed, and I’m sure the others were too. Importantly, it was a revelation. Five minutes before, we’d made an important business decision by subtly steering the discussion toward consensus, and we’d completely missed the better answer.

After that experience, company meetings became a competitive sport driven by intelligence, creativity, innovation, cleverness, and insight, which were rewarded with immediate respect. Likewise, there was little tolerance for long-winded explanations, banal comments, and regurgitation of the obvious. “Does this train of thought have a caboose?” People loved it. It was super stimulating.

Most importantly, the drive for excellence over consensus meaningfully raised the bar on our business decision-making, which enabled our firm to run circles around much larger firms and punch well above our weight.

The case against consensus-driven decision-making is strong: time consumption, risk of groupthink, suppression of minority views, dilution of responsibility, compromise over quality, paralysis in large or diverse groups, lack of leadership, potential for stalemates, not always reflective of true expertise.

Consensus offers a convenient offramp to an easily defensible safe haven. So, if CYA is the priority, prioritize consensus. Most do. But if the goal is to gain an edge over very smart competitors, the best plan is probably not the easy one everyone agrees to. For superior results, be Fred.

Have a great weekend,

Dave

Feedback and blowback are always welcome: dave@goodnewsfriday.com

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