The agenda has just about ended. Most members are tired and ready to go home. But then one member complicates matters by making a surprise motion. Everyone is frustrated and resents being ambushed. How might you prevent or deal with such a situation?

Surprise motions can be an unfair imposition on the group. They may lead to a solution being considered without knowing what the problem is. Last minute motions should be the exception, and not the norm. Your group should make a conscious decision not to tolerate green bananas (items that are not ripe for decision making). Members should understand the inherent risks of last minute proposals: They should appreciate that, without preparation and a deliberate and measured thought process – they may make bad decisions that they will live to regret.

Here are two ideas to help your group prevent or deal with such situations:

• Preventively, establish the importance of having a gradual and measured decision-making process. You may even establish a written policy, stating that surprise proposals will be automatically postponed to a future meeting, unless the group, collectively, agrees that it is imperative to finalize a decision on such a proposal at that meeting.



• At the meeting itself, the process would be as follows: When a last minute motion (a green banana) is introduced, the chair would remind the proponent of the rule that a new proposal may not be finalized at the same meeting. If the member persists and suggests that the item is urgent, the Chair would take a vote: "Those who think this motion should be dealt with today raise your hands. Thank you. Those who believe we should follow our normal procedure of having new motions postponed to a future meeting raise your hands. Thank you. The motion will be considered at the next meeting."