"'Referring the matter to a committee' can be a device for diluting authority, diffusing responsibility and delaying decisions"
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“Referring the matter to a committee” lands because it punctures the polite fiction of modern organizations: that more process equals more wisdom. Antony Jay, a writer steeped in the mechanics of institutions (and famous for skewering them), treats the committee not as a tool of collective intelligence but as a solvent. You don’t hand a question to a committee to solve it; you hand it over to make it less sharp, less urgent, and less owned.
The craft here is the triple rhythm: diluting authority, diffusing responsibility, delaying decisions. Each verb names a different kind of institutional self-protection. “Diluting” suggests power watered down until no one can be blamed for its taste. “Diffusing” evokes responsibility as gas, spreading until it’s everywhere and therefore nowhere. “Delaying” is the payoff: time becomes an ally, because time changes incentives, personnel, and headlines. By the time a committee reports back, the moment that demanded moral or strategic clarity may have passed.
Jay’s subtext is quietly accusatory: committees can be less about democracy than about plausible deniability. They create the appearance of seriousness - minutes, subgroups, consultations - while insulating leaders from having to risk a decisive stance. In bureaucracies and corporate life alike, “we’ll take it to committee” often translates to “we’ll make sure no single person has to say yes or no.”
It’s a writer’s line because it turns an anodyne phrase into a diagnostic for institutional cowardice, revealing how power hides behind procedure while still claiming to be responsible.
The craft here is the triple rhythm: diluting authority, diffusing responsibility, delaying decisions. Each verb names a different kind of institutional self-protection. “Diluting” suggests power watered down until no one can be blamed for its taste. “Diffusing” evokes responsibility as gas, spreading until it’s everywhere and therefore nowhere. “Delaying” is the payoff: time becomes an ally, because time changes incentives, personnel, and headlines. By the time a committee reports back, the moment that demanded moral or strategic clarity may have passed.
Jay’s subtext is quietly accusatory: committees can be less about democracy than about plausible deniability. They create the appearance of seriousness - minutes, subgroups, consultations - while insulating leaders from having to risk a decisive stance. In bureaucracies and corporate life alike, “we’ll take it to committee” often translates to “we’ll make sure no single person has to say yes or no.”
It’s a writer’s line because it turns an anodyne phrase into a diagnostic for institutional cowardice, revealing how power hides behind procedure while still claiming to be responsible.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
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