James Priest

Co-founder and developer of Sociocracy 3.0

James spends his time helping people to learn how to better help themselves. Besides the development and delivery of learning journeys, he works with organizations to improve productivity and engagement, increase agility and grow resilient learning organizations where BOTH the people AND the organization can thrive.

His Talk at AU2024: Reasoned Decision-Making

Reclaiming the power of reason and argumentation to connect and enlighten a divided world. 

Eliminating unnecessary dependencies in organizations empowers individuals to decide and act for themselves. Doing so reduces waste, enhances productivity, and fosters a greater sense of ownership and responsibility. At the same time, when deciding how to deal with complex issues and unavoidable dependencies, involving stakeholders and others with a broad scope of knowledge and expertise is often essential for arriving at a good enough decision.

However, collaborative decision-making can be challenging. Disagreements are common, and failure to navigate them effectively can lead to ongoing conflict or people becoming unreasonable or disengaged.

Yet, any disagreement is a symptom of new information seeking emergence. Examining the reasons behind disputes will always reveal something valuable—whether a misunderstanding, a worthwhile improvement, or a way to avoid undesirable consequences or risks. In a world where we are simply not smart enough to navigate complexity alone, learning to harness the power of dissent and argumentation, being open to reason, and developing a nuanced point of view is crucial for building effective and resilient organizations and for dealing with many of the challenges we face in the world today. 

This talk examines the unfortunate consequences of unresolved disagreements, why handling them can be so tricky, and lays out how to approach decision-making to bridge divides and maximize the chances of success