Deadlock

[Tom Line]

We solve this in a simple manner.

Step one - list all the brainstorming choices on the whiteboard.

Step two, get a soccer ball. Only the person with the ball speaks. He / she lists all the pros and cons he/she can think of for that item, then passes the ball to the next person.

Step three, now everyone is on the same page. Have a raise-your-hands vote to see which option wins.

This makes it a team decision and removes the anger and stress (since you're only listing good points and bad, not arguing with team-mates).

For instance, for the pneumatics, list the pros, whatever they are, but make sure to also list in the cons that it's risky because you don't know how to do it. Then it's a team decision on whether or not to take the risk, and they know it IS a risk that it might not get done. Suggest you may want to have a backup plan on the risky items.

During the listing of pros and cons I can gauarantee you'll have someone say things that makes you roll your eyes. Welcome to real business and the real world, where not everyone quite gets it, but everyone has the best intentions.