Even though collaborative design can lead to superior results, like Linux, it certainly has its pitfalls.
Shell was all about consensus. [...] At the oil company important decisions were taken just when all members of the board agreed. This strive for consensus has its pros. Less mistakes for example: when a lot of people are involved in a decision there is a small chance things are overlooked. [...] But not everyone within Shell liked this collegiality. ‘We should finish with this obsessive focus on consensus, the extreme introvercy, the tolerance for inadequacy and the bureaucracy’, Cor Herkstroter said in 1994. Driven by the disappointing results the former CEO organized all kinds of rallies to invoke a culture change.
This quote illustrates that too much a focus on consensus can result in paralysis and mediocre results. That’s why collaboration just can exist in combination with good leadership. There has to be a decision maker. Linux probably would not have been successful at all without Linus Torvalds at its helm.
Integrity is a keyword. Design decisions have to be made on basis of design quality rather than politics. If not, the community will disintegrate, and with it the subject of its collaboration.
Sources:
Magazine: HP/De Tijd 07 December 2007
Book: Just for Fun, Linus Torvalds
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