Tangrams, titles and tantrums

I've been herding cats this last few weeks. The challenge has been to get 15 households to agree the joint purchase of a large adjoining plot of land, so that it can subsequently be divided up agreeably between them.

There was no way that the vendor was going to tackle 15 separate sets of negotiations and conveyances, so we formed a company to make the single purchase outright, and will then, post-purchase, divide the land equitably between the shareholders.

I would like to think that we are on the home straight now... and it feels like it's been a great way of cementing relationships between neighbours. We've had no tantrums, we've agreed generally how we ought to re-apportion the title, and I can now see a point in mastering the ancient Chinese art of tangrams - it helps you slice up complicated shapes into smaller complicated shapes!

It's fifteen years since I served my time in the classroom, but the old adage about managing meetings (or classes) still holds... you're really managing three strands concurrently - the time, the content, and the emotion. Can you reach consensus before the bell rings?

All's well so far. Once we exchange contracts, it'll feel like End of Term. Once we complete, it'll feel like Graduation. And once we're banging fenceposts in... then I hope will feel like getting that first paycheck. Fingers crossed...