Why do Committees fail? Why do Parliaments pass such strange bills? Why does one get unreal solutions out of conferences?
The facts are these as we have lately discovered.
When a person comes to a Conference:
Example: You call in a plumber, an electrician and a concrete man. You ask for their opinion. They decide on a building with a helicopter port roof! But they don't schedule when or how they plumb, elect or concrete! That's an example of what happens in conferences.
You have 7 experts in their lines. They could contribute data which means Facts. But they can dump their hats and pool opinion! Thus an unreal solution can occur.
One of those hats must be a planning hat. The others all tend to grab that hat. Their own hats will surely then fly straight up to the Manager or Commanding Officer or In Charge who then has to redo it all.
The correct, vital actions of any conference member are:
1. Prepare your data before coming to the Conference.
2. At the Conference tenaciously wear, defend and don't depart from your own hat.
3. Refuse any temptation to wear a planning hat. Insist on the planning member doing the planning.
4. Express only data. Do not give an opinion even when asked for it. Differentiate between summation of data and opinion about data.
5. Refuse to go along with the opinion of others, demand they stick to hard facts.
6. Make sure that any final decision also contains your data and is based only on the data of others.
Lo and behold, the Conference so conducted will actually bring about sound plans and sound decisions.
If you really understand and really follow this rundown and in any conference demand it be followed by all other members, Conferences will be able to produce results and even when held for a senior to finally decide upon, will produce valuable results. It is not vital to have a senior's final decision at all if the Conference is well done as above.
This is in fact a valuable breakthrough and if used makes democratic processes real and also possible.
Try it.