Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: choosing colors

[Rob Sandelin (Floriferous]

In my experience, using consensus to choose items based on personal preference 
is a mistake. If I like brown tile and you like green, which is the higher 
truth? There isn't any, there is only lame compromise that usually neither of 
us likes but is willing to go along with. this can waste lots and lots of 
group time if you let it.

I suggest using a weighted voting system instead. Setup a limited amount of 
samples, give everybody 4 stickers and let them vote on their preferences by 
placing stickers on them. The color sample with the most stickers wins. You 
can let people put all their 4 stickers on one choice, or spread them out 
however they want.

This takes about 10 minutes and usually is pretty clear what the main 
preferences are.

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From:   cohousing-l [at] freedom.mtn.org on behalf of Patty F Gourley
Sent:   Friday, October 24, 1997 5:10 PM
Subject:        choosing colors

Dear List,
Tierra Nueva Cohousing is in the midst of choosing exterior colors for
our common house and individual units.  We have heard that some
communities find choosing colors to be an arduous process.  Any
suggestions out there on how we can approach this so we can reach  a non
contentious consensus?  

Thanks,
Patty Mara Gourley
San Luis Obispo County
on the sunny  central California coast, where the bulldozers are
trenching for the sewer.
And where monarch butterflies are arriving from Oregon and Washington.