The Keys to Step 8


The Keys to Step #8

View Potential Solutions to Find True Agreement

Using the Solution Finder chart and letting everyone immediately see the results will provide you with an accurate basis for determining the desirable courses of action on a given issue. In more than 90 percent of the cases—even those in which stakeholders had previously battled in court—groups come to an agreement that everyone can support. Why? Because they follow a process that enables them to discover their shared hopes and openly explore desirable opportunities to pursue those hopes together.

In the rare instances where significant differences remain, you may need to discuss the alternatives further and come up with some fresh options. Then you can return to Step #6 to evaluate them and continue with the process to find the best solution and a shared commitment for implementation.

Display Results Visually to Reduce Ego Obstacles

With ballot results displayed before them, participants readily gravitate to the options that have potential. People who are stuck on their original idea may discover that it lacks support.

For example, on Tim's software team, the one person whose ballot didn't include B as either a first choice or a viable alternative accepted the group's decision after seeing the results. Because the process was open and no one dominated the discussions, this group member didn't lose face by expressing a different choice. But the decision process, and the displayed results, enabled him to see the picture from other participants' perspectives and, in the end, he willingly supported the team's choice.

Use the Solution Finder Chart to Clarify Alternative Choices

Using Step #8 and the Solution Finder chart not only highlights the preferred option, but also makes the viable alternatives readily apparent. That's why it's important to include both a preferred choice and acceptable alternatives on the ballots and display all the results. Because the alternatives are also tallied, the group is able to explore them further and perhaps incorporate some of their strong points into the chosen solution.

Explore Ways to Improve the Most Attractive Options

Step #8 provides you with clear results and avoids the divisiveness and long-winded debate that can accompany other decision-making approaches. Another advantage is that it lets you incorporate features from alternatives that received significant support. For example, after tallying the votes, the software group discussed what was especially appealing about option C to the participants who selected it as the best choice. Although the group agreed to pursue first-choice B as their new design platform, they modified it to include some compatible elements from option C. Thus, the ballot results provided a way for discussing the options and improving the chosen solution, rather than a means of forcing the majority's view on the minority. And they completed the whole process during the course of an afternoon meeting.

You'll note that this process does not require consensus. That is, it doesn't insist that everyone agree that a particular choice is best in order to proceed. Consensus is desirable if it occurs honestly, without pressure that everyone conform to the same thinking, and if it produces high-quality results. Unfortunately, consensus-driven decisions often fall far short of this ideal. Participants may opt for the least objectionable decision or the lowest common denominator of their interests. Some participants will inevitably mask their honest assessments in an effort to find a compromise with others.

In contrast, the ten-step process encourages all participants to express their candid views and find a shared solution. This brings inventive ideas to the surface. Since it refocuses attention from personal wins and losses to shared results, participants agree upon and support the final decision even if it wasn't the choice they personally preferred.




How Great Decisions Get Made. 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues
How Great Decisions Get Made: 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues
ISBN: 0814407935
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 112
Authors: Don Maruska

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