Integrative decision-making

Short format

The following is the short-format integrative decision-making process (taken from [11]), used when a circle member has both a tension to resolve and a specific proposal to offer as a possible solution:

1. Presentation—the proposer states the tension to be resolved and a possible proposal for addressing it. Clarifying ques- tions are allowed only to understand the proposal as stated; discussion and reactions are cutoff immediately by the facilita- tor, even those veiled in question form.
2. Reaction round—the facilitator asks each person in turn to provide a quick gut reaction to the proposal (e.g., “Love it”; “It needs to account for X”; “No specific reactions”). Discussion or responses of any sort are ruthlessly cutoff by the facilita- tor.
3. Amend and clarify—the proposer has a chance to clarify any aspects of the proposal he or she feels may need clarifying after listening to the reactions or to amend the proposal in minor ways based on the reactions (even if there were clear shortcomings pointed out, no amendments are needed at this stage and no major amendments should be attempted). Discussion is cut off by the facilitator.
4. Consent round—the facilitator asks each person in turn if he or she knows of any objections that must be integrated into the proposal before the decision is made. An “objection” is a reason why the proposed policy or decision is outside a para- mount limit of tolerance of any aspect of the system. Objections are stated without discussion or questions; the facilitator lists all objections on the board and ruthlessly crushes discussion of any kind at this stage. After the round is complete, the decision is considered made if no objections surfaced.
5. Integration—if objections do surface, the facilitator starts a group discussion about the objection, with the goal of swiftly finding a way to integrate the core truth in the objection into an amended proposal that addresses both the objection and the original tension. As soon as is practical, the facilitator (or another circle member) states an amended version of the pro- posal, and the process goes back to the consent round.

Long format

The following is the long-format integrative decision-making process (taken from [11]), used when a circle member has a tension or tensions, but no specific proposal to offer:

1. Form a picture—the facilitator and/or proposer clarify the core topic to be addressed.
2. Explore views—the facilitator asks for tensions and information from each circle member about the topic and charts them (a mind map works well for this). The facilitator then quickly seeks consent that the group has a clear picture of the tensions to address.
3. Generate proposals—the facilitator starts a process to generate a proposal or a set of proposals that addresses one or more of the tensions on the mind map. The facilitator may do this via any means appropriate; common techniques include dialog and brainstorming or asking each person in turn, without discussion, what he or she would propose and listing everything stated on the board. Once there are one or more concrete proposals, the facilitator uses the short format addressed above.

See also

• consent
• ritual dissent