I recently attended Web Content 2008 in Chicago. The goal of this conference is to connect web content management specialists to discuss the latest trends in web development and content management. It always surprises me how there is a blur of insight into specific topics. I attended forums with such titles as "All Content is Social", "Best Practices in Selecting, Implementing, and Managing Content Management System", "Web Operations Management", and "Driving Traffic with Effective Keywords". One detail went by nearly unnoticed, but stuck with me.

Input Does Not Equal Decision

Now I knew you can't design by committee and that too many cooks spoil the broth and that the unexamined life is not worth living. But it is true. Having a good idea and making a decision are two completely different things.

For one thing there is a very natural human tendency to want to affect others. If we're in a group we want to believe that there is a reason we are there, and when the time comes to make a decision, we want to be a part of it. I'm going to go way out on a limb and speak for all Project Managers on behalf of every project that is nearly complete and then receives input from a member of the team who has been all but absent throughout every important decision that has been made.

That is out of scope. We'll address it in phase 2.

Okay how about a nice way of saying it.

"You are a bright and creative person. I really wish we could have gotten everybody's ideas on the table like you did here today and included this one in the plan. I can really see that you have thought about it. Well, life is long and the platform we have built for you can be extended in a number of different ways, let's just focus on what we need to get done and you can work on laying the groundwork for that."