ABSTRACT
What Is the Question? — Most of the Time and Effort ......................................221 Consensus Model...................................................................................................222 Group Dynamics....................................................................................................223 Write It Down........................................................................................................224 Sort It Out ............................................................................................................225 Group Dynamics Again .........................................................................................226 Units.......................................................................................................................227 Overarching Categories .........................................................................................228
It happens almost every time. Someone from a group in the organization will call me or e-mail to request help with a risk assessment model or process. When I arrive on the scene, typically there is a conference room full of people to greet me. Folks from all areas are gathered — managers, political specialists, economists, engineers, other scientists, environmental specialists, legal counsel, and others. I liken this gathering to the three blindfolded persons and the elephant. If you were to ask these three persons: “Do you have an elephant?” their universal answer would be “Yes, we certainly do.” However, if you asked each person to describe the beast, the one holding the tail would say it was like a rope, the one touching the leg would indicate that it was like a tree trunk, and the one holding the ear would relate that it was like a big flat thing.
