Coordinate and act
Quorum, not unanimity
Decide when enough people agree
Decide when a set number of independent evaluators agree, rather than waiting for everyone.
Borrowed from research on how honeybee swarms choose a new home, by biologist Thomas Seeley, described in his book Honeybee Democracy. Read the original source.
Changes a rule or role · Minutes to start · Anyone on the team can start it
Try this first
Agree in advance that the decision is made when a set number of you, judging independently, agree.
Use it when
Decisions stall waiting for full consensus, or drift.
Skip it when
It suits decisions with several people able to evaluate independently. It does not suit decisions that need one accountable owner, or settings where evaluators cannot judge apart from each other.
How to introduce it
Set the decision to land when a defined number of independent evaluators reach the same option. A bee swarm picks a nest this way, committing when enough scouts, each judging alone, converge on the same site. You get a clear, non-arbitrary stopping point without waiting for unanimity.
How to show up
Set the threshold in advance and protect the evaluators' independence, so the agreement is convergence rather than copying.
How long it takes
A moment to set the threshold. Then it's applied.
What makes it hard
The threshold takes judgment. Too low and decisions are flimsy, too high and you are back to unanimity. Independence is the harder part, because evaluators converging on the first or loudest view make the quorum meaningless.
What it looks like when it's working
Decisions land at a clear threshold instead of drifting or waiting for everyone. Independent evaluators who are following each other mean it is not working.
How long until it sticks
Expect a few decisions before the threshold and the independence are well-calibrated.
How you know it stuck
The team decides at a defined point of independent agreement.
The idea behind it
Waiting for everyone stalls decisions. A threshold of independent agreement is enough to act on. The independence is what makes the agreement mean something.
Where it comes from
Research on honeybee collective decision-making. Decide when a defined quorum of independent evaluators agree, rather than waiting for full consensus or letting it drift. The decision is made when a threshold of scouts converges on one site, enough, not everyone.