I have a decision to make.”
Trang, Ellie, and I looked at each other. It was the last 45 minutes of the Co-managed meeting training we did for T’s company — the one who had just spoken up. We were in the “Decision Making” section, and the plan only included introducing the method, not demonstrating it. Trang asked him again: “I understand that you have a proposal and want to make a decision with everyone, is that correct?”
“That’s right,” T replied. He began to explain the context. His company managed several restaurants in Hanoi and Saigon. For the upcoming Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day, he had the idea of thanking customers with a small gift: sticky rice cake. No one said a word in our hosting team, yet I felt an invisible agreement emerged. T was brave enough to initiate a collective decision. We will abandon our original plan to join him in this challenge.
I automatically grabbed a pen and paper before Trang whispered to me: “Linh, please help me harvest.” Turning to the participants, she said: “I invite T and all those involved in this decision to step into the middle. We will form a small circle.”
Stepping into the middle with everyone, my heart pounded. I knew Trang would lead everyone through a consent-based decision making process called Generative Decision Making (GDM). This process had clear steps to invite collective intelligence in decision making. However, it would take everyone out of their habits, and this could be difficult for a new group. Not to mention that we didn’t have much time left. I glanced at Ellie in the outer circle; she was hastily writing down the steps of the process on some A4 sheets. At least we would have a cheat sheet.
Joining T in this process were four other people in different positions in the restaurant. Trang started with the first step: proposal. She said: “T, please state your proposal again clearly.”
“For the upcoming Hung Kings’ Day,” T replied, “restaurant B will gift each customer a sticky rice cake.” I diligently copied his proposal on paper and placed it in the middle.
Next step: clarifying questions. Trang asked the rest of the group if they had anything to clarify about the proposal. Someone asked if the cake would be sweet or savory (sweet); when would it be served (appetizer); would the restaurant make the cake or buy them (buy); would the program apply to the Saigon or Hanoi branches (both).
After the series of questions, we moved on to step number three: reaction. This is when everyone expressed their thoughts. In the GDM process, as long as no one objected, the proposal would be approved. There were two people who supported the proposal. But the third person said that sticky rice cake was not a familiar dish in Hanoi; she was worried that she would not be able to find a reputable supplier before the day. She did not agree with the proposal. At this point, T had two options. One was to withdraw the proposal, the other was to change it to accommodate the objection.
T hesitated. I, and the whole room, held our breath waiting for him. After about a minute of silence, Trang came to whisper in his ears for support. Finally, he presented a second version of the proposal: the Saigon branch would serve sticky rice cake, the Hanoi branch would decide on the appropriate gift.
With this new proposal, we returned to the reaction step. One or two people hesitated, but no one voiced clear objections. We came to the final step: visual confirmation. Everyone would need to raise their thumbs to clearly show that they could live with this decision. I was elated because we were so close to now, but alas, there was one person who could not raise a finger. Trang gently invited her to speak. She expressed that she was in charge of the restaurant’s communications. This promotion would definitely require a few posts with photos to share on social media. And if the Hanoi branch did not make a decision soon, she would not be able to prepare the content in time.
T was flabbergasted. I sympathize with him because he probably did not expect that this decision would be so difficult. Trang whispered to T again and a third proposal emerged: Saigon would serve banh it tran, Hanoi must make a decision in the next week so that the media team can post the article. All fingers were raised. The whole room breathed a sigh of relief. T shook his head and laughed: “I thought the proposal was simple, but who would have thought…”
When the training ended, we the hosting team went into a small room and hugged each other. Tears of joy ran down our faces. It would be so disappointing if we had to end the program without a decision made. Fortunately, we reached the goal. Making collective decisions required a lot of courage. The courage to step into an unfamiliar process, the courage to make a proposal, and the courage to voice dissenting opinions without feeling like you’re holding the team back. Thanks to this, T and his team were able to perceive the problem from a multiple points of view and take wiser actions.