We strategic thinkers so easily get our hopes up sometimes.

Haven’t you been in those sessions before where you just know you can drive the group to truly selling out to some key objectives and committing together to make it all happen? Things are going well, you’ve got your tight list of objectives and goals, and it feels like some real barriers have been knocked down.

Then someone points out that there’s one small initiative that hasn’t been addressed in the objectives.

Then another someone points out there’s a small vocal minority that hasn’t been addressed in the objectives.

Then a couple folks realize John and Jane Doe, who have been around forever, aren’t going to think the objectives address an area they’re interested in.

And the snowball builds and builds and builds. And that demon known as consensus creeps in and starts turning tight, focused, strategic objectives into generic, limp, scattered corporate nonsense.

You’ve been there, haven’t you?