Decision Rules

Group decisions are driven by rules—constitutions, bylaws, contracts. Often the set of choices voted on by the group has been winnowed down by a committee or a backroom process that can strongly control the outcome by determining what choices are offered (and how they are described). This prescreening is often filled with obscure rules and processes. Organizations that come to crucial decision points (sometimes vital to the organization’s future) may find themselves suddenly looking at their bylaws (or whatever controls these processes) to find out how things should be done, but when those rules are poorly constructed (or give immense power to a few select people within the group), bad decisions can emerge that please very few people. The time to review organizational bylaws and rules is before crucial votes appear, not in the midst of major decisions themselves.