Since these leaders have been constantly opting for consensus decision-making process that is based on precedents, when there is no precedent they malfunction.

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"This consensus decision-making means tough decisions don't get made, " said Barry.

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Even where nations like Germany and France were disposed to take visionary actions (such as immediate recognition of Croatia and Slovenia -- and even the introduction of armed peacekeepers), the lowest-common denominator character of these organizations' consensus decision-making mechanisms made such actions utter non-starters.

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The trick: use Google's consensus-driven decision-making process--and exacting standards--against it.

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His style is consensus-building, his decision-making less unilateral and impetuous than Kan or, particularly, Hatoyama.

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The removal of Mr. Bo, who had been running an unusually overt campaign to thrust himself into the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, is being widely viewed as a rejection of individualist politics in favor of consensus-driven decision making.

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When looking at the answers, the team quickly realized that the previous companies had very different decision-making cultures (one was a slow process of building consensus, and the other used open, time-bound debate with final decisions made by the CEO).

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Decision-making on a nonprofit board requires building consensus, a very different skill from influencing someone who reports to you.

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To fix this problem, the team asked themselves some simple questions about the decision-making culture: To what extent are decisions currently made by consensus or by the CEO (on a scale of 1-10)?

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