Committee Happy

A special group is formed here, a task force there, and a "hot team" is chugging away on the same subject in the next department. In time, they begin to bump into one another and the conflicting signals they transmit can baffle the rest of the organization.

In many cases, the proliferation of committees represents an ad hoc effort to address an immediate problem. Often, they are used to placate an internal or external pressure group. Although I like the Amazon.com "two pizza" rule (no team should require more than two pizzas to feed its members), there is much to be said for having a big committee instead of creating a series of smaller committees on the same subject. Here are some advantages:

• Narrow interests get to discover and appreciate all of the other interests that the organization needs to balance.



• Interests counter-balance one another and produce greater moderation.



• Staff has to provide support to only one committee. It's far easier to attend one meeting than six.



• The committee itself can draw upon greater expertise from its membership.
  

A wide range of committees on roughly the same subject is a sign that someone, somewhere, let matters get out of control.