Some Questions Benefit from Group Discussion. Others Don’t.
But when it comes to yes/no decisions, we found that group deliberation actually reduced the likelihood of making the correct choice. In other words, even when deliberation produces more accurate estimates, if the group then votes on the simple yes-or-no decisions related to those questions — i.e., Will this product launch on time?, Will we overrun our budget?, or Will this candidate meet our standards? — they are actually less likely to make the correct decision.