The point is that different people need to be managed in different ways. You might want clear direction. I will quit if told "do it this way or find another job". The best managers will interact with you in the ways that get the most out of you, while interacting with me in the ways that get the most out of me. If we were to compare notes, it's doubtful we'd believe we had the same manager.
What does this even mean?
I'm sorry that you felt your time was wasted in meetings, but you seem to ignore the equally bad outcome of blindly chasing a direction and pissing off all the devs who actually had some foresight.
It doesn't mean ignoring devs who have foresight; it means looking at the options and picking the best one. Not endlessly debating. We agree on the approach but I think you misread my comment as being a unilateral decision all the way through. I'm just saying you have to be able to make a tough decision without waffling and without all of the facts but with enough conviction that people fall into line with you.
The most meaning that can be extracted is about your worldview.
The fact is, there are indecisive weenies, and there are over-confident blowhards, but most people fall somewhere in between. When you complain about the culture in general, especially in a get-off-my-lawn manner, it sort of pushes you into the far end of the spectrum where you start to lose credibility with your employees because they realize over time the confidence is not commensurate with the knowledge and expertise.
Debate for an hour (even two?), ask everyone their opinion, and then make a decision. Revisit in a month or three.
My natural tendency is to want consensus. I think that's worth attempting within a reasonable time-frame. But after some discussion, eventually a decision needs to be made.
Many decisions are reversible at a very small cost. Sometimes making the wrong decision, soon, then correcting it, soon, wastes no more time and resources than not deciding at all. Sometimes it's even preferable for morale.
Having everyone row together in the wrong direction, then change course, isn't ideal. But at least everyone is rowing in the same direction and feels like a real team. Often that's better than sitting in middle of the ocean, oars in the water, debating and going nowhere.
But as with most advice I offer unsolicited, I'm going to waffle and say, "it depends on the situation". :)
Otherwise, if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything will look like a nail.