This book describes the Delphi method, which produces group opinions by collecting simultaneous rather than sequential responses to a prompt, event, or meeting. These are circulated and revised until the group reaches a consensus; the method restrains the mimicry and groupthink that can undermine open discussions. I realize in hindsight that I partially incorporated this method while collecting feedback as a hiring manager, but oddly I haven't encountered it in other contexts.
Thomas also notes that lowering costs in medicine means attacking the underlying mechanism of disease at the earliest possible stage, which reminded me of something I remember from The Goal - inventory should be kept at the lowest cost stage of the process. The way he says that most major diseases hinge on a single key mechanism also invoked Eliyahu Goldratt's business bro classic for the way it mirrored The Goal's analysis of bottlenecks.
