It was no surprise to read recent research that teams make better decisions most of the time than individuals, and teams never make worse decisions than individuals. To make good decisions the FMO needs to harness the diversity of a variety of teams including the board of directors, focus groups and the biannual General Members’ Meetings. And FMO is part of the Optical Confederation, which continuously ensures team decisions are made about how best to respond to government consultations, policies and regulations.
FMO is a trade body and has a clear objective to support and represent the interests of its members. By definition, the interests of FMO’s members are commercial. Although we are a ‘not for profits’ organisation, we are quite different to charities; they exist to represent the interests of their beneficiaries.
Good teams make good decisions because of the diversity of the team; experience balanced by fresh new ideas, broad background balanced by in-depth knowledge in a particular area. Teams need to be flexible, not fixed, depending on the issues for which decisions are required. And most of all, team decisions must be respected and not undermined by those at the top. Bringing issues into the open can make people feel challenged by different viewpoints, so skilled facilitation is also a must.
FMO accepts our members do not want two trade shows every year, and next week at our General Members’ Meeting we will continue the discussion started at our AGM in December, with open participation by all members attending the meeting. I have every faith the diversity of members who attend will ensure we begin to identify solutions we may not yet have thought of.