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# System prepended metadata

title: GSG Decision Making Process

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# GSG Decision Making Process

## Definitions

### One and Two-way Doors
The analogy of a one and two-way door are doors that can be easilly traversed in either direction, and those that only allow traversal in one direction and prevent movement back.

In order to move quickly, people are encouraged to make self-managed decisions using the advice process for those things that are two-way doors (ie. can be easilly reversed with no long-term negative side effects). One-way doors (those that are hard to reverse and/or will cause damage to the organization if it is wrong), should be more carefully deliberated using a facillitated consent mechanism (see below).

### Above and Below the Waterline
Another similar analogy that is used is the concept of "above" and "below" the water line. This terminology is derived from a boat analogy. The waterline on a boat is where the water comes up to on the side when the boat is loaded and on the water. A hole or damage occuring to the boat above the waterline is able to be repaired and does not risk the ship sinking. A hole or damage below this waterline, will cause water to enter the ship, eventually sinking it.

Using this analogy, any decision that is "above the waterline" should be done using the advice process, and any decision "below the waterline" should invoke the facilitate consent process.

## The Mechanisms

### The Advice Process
The Advice Process is a key tool for pushing decision making as far to the edges as possible. The way the Advice Process works: for non-trivial decisions, you should ask relevant stakeholders that might be impacted or benefit from the results of the decision for their opinion and advice. The bigger the decision, the greater number of people should be sought for advice. Advice is not manadatory changes that need to be made to the proposal, it is only advice and can be used to expand scope, change direction, or be noted and not incorporated into any changes at all. The important part of the mechanism is that *others* fell like they have the opportunity to provide advice and are heard, even if their advice is ultimately not used.

From Reinventing Organizations: 
![](https://i.imgur.com/J1FXsyz.png)

### The Facilitated Consent Mechanism
What about decisions that are "one-way doors" and/or "below the waterline"? In these cases, even super inclusive advice process might not be enough. Are there people upset or angry? Are people not getting on-board? These are signs that something more structured is needed. One such tool is a facilitated consent process called Generitive Decision Making.

![](https://i.imgur.com/4ThnGG7.png)

What mechanisms are in place to ensure experiment do not become entrenched by default even if it is not working.

Complicated vs Complex decusions

- Disord forums
- Do we need pre-consent mechanisms?
- How do we include all stakeholders, particularly those that might not be top of mind
- flow charts for how these mechanisms work
- 