This is also a good way to have one person in the group be in a leadership role. They can ask the questions during discussions as the facilitator, and take down notes of any conclusions reached or important points during the discussion.

Once everyone in the group understands each other’s opinions, it is then necessary to agree to specific plans to carry out those opinions. In this example, the goal is to reduce energy consumption in buildings.

Since there are many possible solutions to energy conservation, a consensus is developed and the group decides that the solution will be installing occupancy sensors in the light switches in every room and hallway, and placing them in such a way that when they are on, they can turn off automatically after 5 minutes if no one walks by.

Then, depending on the size of the company, it may be necessary to delegate a coordinator to ensure that this plan is followed.

Group consensus can also be an important tool in situations where there are many conflicts in a team or within a company or an organization. In these cases, consensus is an efficient way of reducing conflicts.