What a thin majority costs you

Say a committee votes 4 to 3 to add a large private credit allocation. Eighteen months later the asset class has a rough patch. The three who voted no now have a reason to reopen the decision at every meeting. Staff spend their time defending the call instead of managing it. The manager hears about the debate and wonders if it will be redeemed.

A decision that only half the room owns is fragile.

How good committees get to real agreement

The strongest family offices I know looked at every angle of an opportunity before they decided. A few habits make that practical:

1. Send materials early. A memo a week ahead lets members think before the meeting, not during it.
2. Name the risks in writing. Staff should list what could go wrong and what would make them change their mind.
3. Hear the skeptic first. Ask the member most likely to object to speak early. Objections raised late feel like ambushes.
4. Split big moves. If a 10% shift can't get agreement, a 5% step with a set review date might.

Consensus is not the same as unanimity

The goal is that everyone understands the decision and can support it in public, even if they would have chosen something else. Not that everyone loves it.

When a strong voice dominates

In the book I described a committee where the principal wanted to hear opinions but made every decision himself. That can work in a family. On an endowment committee, one dominant trustee can quietly turn the group into a rubber stamp. The chair's job is to keep that from happening.