Consensus Through Conversations: How to Achieve High-Commitment Decisions

CONSENSUS THROUGH

CONVERSATION

CONSENSUS THROUGH

CONVERSATION

How to Achieve

High-Commitment

Decisions

by

Larry Dressler

Consensus Through Conversation

Copyright © 2006 by Larry Dressler

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First Edition

Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-57675-419-1

PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-57675-935-6

IDPF ISBN: 978-1-60994-332-5

2008-1

To my parents, Harold and Selma Dressler, who have taught me about the joy of animated conversation (especially at the dinner table), the potential for one person to make a difference in the world, and the possibilities created when people come together to act on what matters to them.

KEY TO THE ICONS

Throughout the Consensus Pocket Guide you will find different icons. These are quick examples, resources, and tools that may be particularly useful to you. Graphic icons help you to search out this information quickly.

KEY POINT: A statement from the text that is so important, insightful, or just plain eloquent, we don’t want you to miss it.

TOOL: Specific planning templates and process tools that make any group process go more smoothly.

CASE EXAMPLES: Short, real-world vignettes of the consensus decision-making process in action.

SOUNDS LIKE: Scripted examples that describe exactly what a facilitator might say at a particular point in the consensus process.

FOREWORD

BY PIERRE GAGNON

Former CEO, Mitsubishi Motors

of North America

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My years at Saturn and Mitsubishi taught me that inclusive leadership is one of the most powerful tools in business today. The command and control model of management is now obsolete. In today’s complex business environment, there has never been a greater need for including others in critical decisions. Yet, I have found very few business leaders who are comfortable with the notion of deciding by consensus. They feel they are giving up power and prestige. Having used the consensus approach for more than a decade, I strongly believe that consensus decision making yields higher-quality and higher-commitment decisions. It is not, however, a process that is easily implemented. To make it work, a leader must have a deep-rooted, fundamental belief that broader participation in decision making yields much higher-quality decisions and incredibly faster execution. I was fortunate to learn the process at Saturn, but truly experienced the unbelievable power of consensus at Mitsubishi.

When I arrived at Mitsubishi in April 1997, I found a fragmented company with an unclear brand identity, disappointing product quality, and an adversarial relationship with dealers. It’s no wonder the company had lost money for ten consecutive years in North America. I was informed a month after joining the company that the Japanese parent company was seriously considering pulling out of America. Needless to say, I felt an enormous sense of urgency to change the business fundamentals of the U.S.-based company. We immediately formed twelve change teams to tackle the critical areas of the business, from product quality to brand development. I urgently needed to fully leverage the talents of the best and brightest in the organization. I needed to make them part of the solution, not part of the problem. I needed their buy-in in order to execute faster. We were running out of time. That’s when I was introduced to Larry Dressler. The author was tireless and relentless in helping us implement a consensus decision-making process.

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Our first session with the Regional Marketing Council took 36 hours to reach consensus on a dramatically new direction. Larry was masterful in facilitating the entire session. Somehow he was able to extract the best ideas and inspire everyone to seek the best possible outcome for the company. He uncovered hidden agendas, crafted proposals, and led us to consensus. A high level of commitment ensued, and the rest is history. Looking back, it was our toughest session in the entire change process.

Larry subsequently implemented the consensus decision model in all twelve change teams and the newly formed National Dealer Advisory Board. It was amazing to see the process work. By putting the right people in the room to have the right conversations and to go beyond agreeing-to actually commit together-we experienced the power of consensus building. Mitsubishi Motors’ North American operations subsequently flourished with five consecutive record years of profits, increasing revenue by 94 percent and establishing all-time sales and market share records. We went from making decisions in a vacuum and operating in silos to a company that was unified, aligned, effective, and profitable.

Consensus Through Conversation: How to Achieve High-Commitment Decisions was written by an author who has real-life experience in planning and implementing a consensus decision-making process at a major automotive company and in many other diverse settings. Not only does Larry Dressler fully understand the concept, he knows what it takes to implement the process in a real-world situation. The author offers a comprehensive, step-by-step process to effectively implement consensus decision making in your organization.

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If you’re looking for higher-quality decisions, increased trust, faster execution, and higher commitment, then this process is for you. It’s my hope that in reading this book, you go beyond creating more effective meetings and better deliberation through more meaningful conversation. I hope you use the principles and practices described in this book to fundamentally change the culture in your organization or community. It will set you apart from the pack.

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PREFACE

If you are a consultant, manager, meeting facilitator, team leader, community organizer, or simply someone who is involved in lots of group decisions, Consensus Through Conversation was written