Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Consenus and Practical decision making

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 9/11/2003 5:27 PM, "aamato [at] worldbank.org" <aamato [at] worldbank.org> 
wrote:

> I tend to agree with you about delegating, however, we have the problem that a
> few of our members insist that many of these issues are so important that a
> discussion by the full membership is necessary to hear everyone out and come
> to true consensus.

What is important to one person is trivial to another. I place decisions in
the larger abstract theoretical context that drives people nuts. It drives
me equally nuts when they say this is just routine -- delegate it.

Forms are a case in point. When is a form something useful and when is it
really saying I don't have to deal with that unless you say it the right
way? There is a big difference between a form needed to provide a legal
foundation or an audit trail and one required to report that a door on the
commonhouse is hanging from its hinges and blowing in the wind. A discussion
of those differences is something many of our members just can't cope with.

Sociocracy has a response for this -- hold a roundtable discussion amongst
those who are interested in the discussion and let them make the decision.
This does to have to be a standing team. You don¹t have to form a task
force. Just hold the discussion, make the decision, and send it back to the
group for ratification, if necessary.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org

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