If your startup is making consensus-driven decisions, it is ngmi.
Too much consensus kills creativity. In fact, the more disagreements and open name-calling, the better. Founders and early teams (the first 10 people) that cannot take brutal truths aren’t going to make great startups. After all, all startups aren’t equal.
Some major differences in consensus-driven startups vs individual-driven ones:
| Consensus-Driven startups | Individual-driven startups |
| Approval junkies | Ask for forgiveness rather than permission (means the person is ready to take accountability) |
| High string of dependencies: “graphic designer to copywriter to editor to founder to publish” | Low dependencies: i design the banner in Canva, write it, edit it, get a couple of opinions (maybe) and hit publish |
| Uncomfortable discussions are avoided | Uncomfortable discussions are blunt |
| Disagreements in private, quietly, soften the blow | Disagreements are loud, public, and direct |
| Diluted responsibility: “we, we, we” | Concentrated responsibility: “i, i, i” |
| Right process matters more | Right outcome matters more |
