The Decision Debt Check
Answer alone first, in writing, without looking anything up. Then ask your leadership team to answer questions 1, 3 and 8 on their own, and compare. Where the answers differ is where the decision debt is.
- 1
Name the last decision your leadership team made. When was it made, and who owns it?
- 2
How many people can approve a discount, a hire or a purchase over €5,000?
- 3
What did you decide last quarter that you are discussing again this quarter?
- 4
Which decisions still reach the founder that should not?
- 5
What is the longest a stuck decision has waited in the last month?
- 6
Where are decisions written down? Could a new hire find them?
- 7
In your last leadership meeting, how many minutes went on updates?
- 8
Who decides when two leaders disagree?
- 9
Which decision would you most like someone else to own?
- 10
What did you decide in a corridor this week that nobody else heard about?
- 11
If you were away for a month, which three decisions would wait for you?
- 12
Ask your team question 1. Do their answers match yours?
Zero to three: your decisions mostly get made once. Four to seven: you are paying some decision debt, usually of one kind. Eight or more: it is costing you hours every week, and a 30-minute call is free. Write to hello@inescastell.com.