Am extracting some stuff from my blog http://saysmuraliaboutlife.blogspot.in/ that are more relevant in a business scenario than otherwise. Here's one...

THE IMPORTANCE OF GREY

The first and most important step towards building consensus in a multi-party scenario is to establish the presence of grey. If the view remains binary till a decision is to be made, the only way to decide would be to have the majority prevail if the process is to be kept democratic. That is, often, the worst outcome in a multi-party discussion or negotiation since all parties in the minority have been provided infinitely more time to prove the decision wrong, and that too at the time of carrying out the action following the decision!