Meetings, meetings, meetings! From city councils to non-profit boards, many people spend several hours each day in meetings. The problems of personality conflicts, poorly planned agendas, competition, power plays, and authoritarian styles have combined to make meetings something most people endure rather than enjoy. Majority rule sets up winners and losers, making for bitterness, stress, personal attacks, and sabotage. But here and there, in cutting-edge organizations, some folks have discovered an alternative to dreadful meetings. Consensus decisionmaking is a growing alternative to the conventional ways in which groups govern themselves.

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