[Businessmtg] Consensus Determination

[Gerald Hunter]

Biz-Pals,

I've just poked my head out of the woods, so I've just now gotten to read through the BM messages of the past few days. Already I'm detaching emotionally and moving on to Principles.

Does the person chairing a meeting using KBDM need a method to determine whether a consensus exists affirming moving forward to further discussion of the topic at hand or the forming of a motion?

Yes. Remember, the goal is to arrive at motions which are developed by the participation of all members of the body and therefore more likely to be approved with near unanimity. Participation. Unity. Key words to think about.

Is it not clear that we are nowhere near substantial unanimity on a process for determining whether a unified consensus exists on this topic in this meeting?

Clear as a bell to me. Can we not set aside our personalities, think a little harder, and find a solution more agreeable to almost all? You ask me, if we proceed with any of the suggestions so far we risk controversy, not cooperation.

When a lack of consensus is ignored and personal will is substituted, domination begins. I don't believe that's where any Al-Anon entity wants to go. Folks, we can do better. I know it.

A word, please, about autonomy. ASP is not California or Michigan or Florida or New Jersey. How any Area runs their business does not determine how ASP is to run its business. When ASP's membership decided to take on full responsibility for running this meeting it was agreed by a group conscience to adopt the founding principles, policies, and practices ASP's founder had set forth. A reminder, here, that a Group Conscience trumps all.

In every past meeting it has been sufficient that the chair followed the meeting content, determined that the threshold for near unanimity has been met (or not), then announced that a motion was to be written or the topic was tabled or dropped. I know I kept track of how members felt. Near unanimous agreements are pretty easy to identify.

My position is that members' thoughtful input will bring to the fore all the good outcomes we can handle. Moving to a poll encourages members to rely on others for the thinking and often limits participation to aye's and nay's. That sounds a lot like Robert's Rules to me and why KBDM was adopted in the first place.

Jerry
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