Joanna
----- Original Message ----- I'm going to answer Barlett below. But I should point out that my Quaker example was not an example of the failure of consensus, but the high price sometimes paid for success. I'm also curious. I seem to be the only one on this list who thinks elevating consensus to a general principle, whether it is Barlett's principle or some other, is a serious error. Does nobody else think that whether to use consensus or not for group decision making should depend on particular circumstances rather than having some simple "principle" or checklist that determines when it is suitable?