Consensus Management Will Kill Your Business

We once worked with a company that spent six weeks debating the placement of a new feature from our innovation work. Everyone had an opinion—marketing, operations, finance. It took ages to agree on a date for a meeting that everyone could attend, and then they had the meeting, and the project stalled. No surprise.

This is what happens when you try to build software (or do anything new) by committee.

🎯 Consensus Feels Safe. That’s the Problem

If you’re running a business doing $5 to $20 million in revenue, chances are you’ve got smart people on your team. And when you kick off a software project—be it an internal tool or a new product—it’s tempting to get everyone’s input.

What’s the harm? You want everyone to be on board, right?

But when everyone has a say, no one is accountable. And the bigger your team, the slower your decisions.

Consensus feels inclusive, but it’s paralyzing. No one feels safe making a decision.

🤯 The Hidden Costs of Consensus

You don’t see the damage at first. Meetings feel productive. Feedback is flowing. Everyone’s “engaged.”

Then deadlines slip.

The scope balloons.

You end up with a product that tries to solve five different problems at once—and solves none of them well.

Everyone forgot a basic principle: Meetings are not work.

Here’s what it’s actually costing you:

• Time: You lose months chasing alignment instead of shipping.
• Money: You burn budget revisiting decisions and rewriting features.
• Opportunity: While you’re stuck in meetings, a faster competitor launches and eats your lunch.

👑 You Need a Champion, Not a Committee.

Great software gets built when someone owns the outcome. A Champion.

You don’t need more buy-in. You need clear ownership.

Here’s what works:

• Appoint a product owner. One person. Their job is to make decisions, not gather votes.
• Welcome input, but don’t wait for consensus. Everyone can contribute ideas, but not everyone gets a seat at the decision table.
• Tie every feature to a business goal. Does it save time? Drive revenue? Improve retention? If not, it’s noise.

⚠️ The Real Risk Is Playing It Safe

If you’re a CEO, ask yourself:

1. Who’s really in charge of our software (or any) projects?
2. Are we optimizing for outcomes—or for keeping everyone happy?
3. Would I bet this year’s targets on our current decision-making process?

⭐️ Takeaways

Consensus is great when you’re ordering lunch.

It’s terrible when you’re building software.

If you want results, empower someone to lead. Make it their job to ship, not to please.

Your business future depends on the courage of the one who makes a decision.