Decision-Making by Consensus Doesn't Work in the AI Era

In this Apr 7, 2026 Harvard Business Review piece, Jonathan Rosenthal and Neal Zuckerman argue that consensus decision-making — a half-century-old management default — has two crippling weaknesses in the AI era: it is too slow, and it distorts information as it filters up. They propose two structural alternatives: the autonomous scrum (small empowered teams) and the OVIS framework (one owner, two-or-three vetoers or influencers). For SEA mid-market boards, the implication is sharp: governance forums that demand unanimity will lose decision speed to competitors that codify single-owner decision rights.