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Once partners have worked through this process, they not only have achieved their desired outcome, but also have evolved toward a full partnership because they’ve become smarter partners. Although Dairyland obtained a negotiated contract that everyone praised as a breakthrough event, in fact everyone gained much more. The partnership not only created security for the union membership, but also provided new opportunities for expansion and growth for the cooperative.

People who believe they’re being treated fairly are more productive. Those who believe their interests are being addressed feel valued and important. They feel part of a team, and they’ll invest their time and energy in helping that team succeed.What fosters such enthusiasm is not a contract-signing ceremony, but the process that produced the desired outcome. It is a powerful dynamic, one too often overlooked by businesses today.

Look for the best decision based on the available information. Once an issue has surfaced, gather as many facts about it as possible. This allows the group to make a decision based on information rather than emotion.When information is lacking, the imagination takes over. So base your decisions on facts. Everyone should share information with the rest of the group. This is an effective method for building trust and ensuring that the consensus process generates the best decision possible.

Both parties should focus on discovering the best decision within the context of the partnership while at the same time satisfying the interests of all major stakeholders. Identify areas where you agree and begin to build consensus from there. It’s much easier to start from where you agree than from where you don’t.

Any of the parties may block a potential decision. But the party blocking the decision must search for alternatives with the rest of the group. If an alternative solution is not forthcoming, the blocking party must reevaluate his or her position. Don’t tolerate an irresponsible blocker. A person who blocks group consensus without offering a different perspective is acting in a passive-aggressive manner. The group needs to confront blockers and find out what they need to allow the group to move ahead. If they’re unable to respond, it’s best to table the issue for a period of time to allow them to come up with a different suggestion or rally behind the proposed resolution.

Voting, horse trading, and compromise are not part of the process. As tempting as it may seem, do not vote, flip a coin, calculate an average, or use any other tension-reducing technique. Consensus decision making encourages divergent ideas to surface and allows conflicts to be resolved in an open manner. By using an averaging technique, we prevent the conflict from surfacing. This simply causes the conflict to resurface later—perhaps in a more destructive way. The purpose of consensus is to find win-win outcomes. When you trade support or seek compromise, you’re creating situations in which people may feel they’ve lost something. The idea is to find the best possible solution, not just to manufacture a conclusion. The sheer act of “sticking to it” creates a sense of trust between group members.

State only your point of view. Good ideas support themselves. People don’t need to justify their opinions. Resist the temptation to criticize or comment on others’ perspectives. Just allow them to state what they believe without offering anything more.

Don’t discredit the views of others. There’s no need to discredit others’ opinions. Their opinions are as important to them as yours are to you. By discrediting others, you only cause harm and resentment in the relationship. Reasonable people can disagree and still respect each other.

Limit discussion to the issue, not the person. Keep the conversation focused on ideas. Don’t succumb to attacking the speaker personally. The most effective way to resolve differences is to focus on facts, not on what you think the speaker intends.

The solution must be acceptable to all parties.When people with diverse points of view agree, the result is especially strong. By valuing differences, creative solutions arise. Different points of view and sources of information help the group expand, clarify, and define the issue in a way no one person can.When we consider diverse opinions, we create synergy within the partnership.

Knowledge is the intellectual capital that an organisation possesses. It is much more than data, as it includes the experience and expertise found within an organisation. Information is generally objective, whereas knowledge includes elements of interpretation and understanding. Technological developments have prompted an explosion in the scope and depth of knowledge to which decision-makers have access. However, there is now so much information and knowledge available that what sets successful organisations apart is their ability to develop and use them creatively.

Knowledge and information have to be collected, protected and effectively and intelligently managed if they are to be valuable resources that guide and inform every stage of decision-making. There is increasing recognition of the benefits of using not justsomebut allemployees’knowledge, by developing simple and robust systems that allow information and expertise to flow to key points in the organisation.Wheninformation is withheld or poorly managed, it often causes suspicion, frustration or resentment. However, introducing systems to control and direct information can be disruptive, causing additional work and pressure.

Does your organisation collect, analyse and use all of the available data?
Is information kept up to date?
Are customers contacted consistently and are senior managers actively involved?
Are information systems able to provide a clear understanding of customers?

Using the internet for decision-making

Does your website provide maximum decision-making value?
What is the trail from customer information captured online to decisions being made? How could this trail be enhanced?
How is the internet being used to refine advertising effectiveness?
Could more be done in this area?
Would clickstream data enhance understanding of customers?
Are adequate safeguards in place to protect the security of customer information, and to ensure that customers are not overwhelmed by requests for information?
Personalisation and special-offer promotions are activities that can both inform decisions and add value for customers. Are these techniques being successfully applied?

Product development

What will make the product unique or valuable to customers?
Which benefits will be used to sell the product?
How, where and by whom will the product be sold?
What will be the pricing strategy?
What sales volumes can be expected?
Where are the likely difficulties and danger points?

Assessing market sensing capabilities can highlight both where and how the organisation can improve. Consider the following issues:

To what extent does an informed, dynamic view of the market guide managers’ actions?
How effectively does customer information flow around the organisation? Is there an accurate, consistent and shared understanding of customers: who they are and what they want?
Is there an overemphasis on gathering and measuring data at the expense of action? (The danger of data infatuation.)
Is market data merely used for political purposes, justifying predetermined courses of action?
Do market insights guide major decisions?
How unique are the customer insights that are influencing your organisation? Are they easily available to your competitors?
How comprehensively do you monitor competitors’ actions?
Are competitors seen from the customers’ viewpoint?
How creative is your organisation in its response to customer data? What would improve it?

Market segmentation

Are your markets segmented in a way that reflects the current market?
Are your market segments clearly focused and simple, or do they need to change?
To what extent are customers and competitors considered when making decisions? Could this be improved?

For businesses selling through different channels – direct, online, via agents or retail outlets – conflicts can arise unexpectedly, and the various sales channels should be evaluated during the product development process. This means assessing the value, significance and potential of each channel. The most profitable ones should be maintained, and those with potential should be nurtured. Ensuring that each channel has a slightly different value proposition is a prerequisite to maximising their advantages. This may require targeted sales initiatives focused on the needs of each market segment.

It is necessary to consider the overall product portfolio, assessing how a new product fits with existing ones and how well it supports the organisation’s overall strategy. (For example, whether the organisation is positioning itself as a high-value provider of premium-value services,orwhetherit ismoreconcernedwithhighvolumesandlowcosts.) Resource issues. Issues relating to production, personnel and operations often receive less attention during development decisions than external factors relating to customers and competitors. However, it is essential to consider such questions as:

Are the processes, skills and resources in place to develop and sell the product?
How can financial viability and in particular the profit margin be enhanced?
Are costs likely to fluctuate?
How reliable are suppliers?
How will the desired quality standards be achieved consistently?
How can the level of risk be reduced and the return on investment increased?

Understand the market as clearly and accurately as possible:

Define customers’ needs and identify which features of the product will be most appealing.
Determine, in as much detail as possible, who the product appeals to and why.
Consider market trends, including price, customer expectations and technological developments.

Organisations need to understand their existing and potential customers, and find ways to connect with them. To do this may involve market sensing techniques explored earlier in this chapter. Innovations can arise from experience, creative genius or by collaboratively adapting the work and ideas of others. Learn from others by considering how everything from market research to developing customer loyalty has been addressed in other markets or industries. An understanding of current and future sources of competition will also guide development decisions.