Everyone is responsible, so no one is responsible
Apple’s secret weapon isn’t design; it’s the DRI. Use this protocol to eliminate “committee guilt” and assign radical accountability.
When a project fails and you ask “Who messed up?”, if the answer is “We all did,” you have a systemic failure.
Shared ownership is no ownership.
Steve Jobs instilled the concept of the DRI (Directly Responsible Individual). For every single item on the agenda, one person’s name is next to it. They get the glory if it works, and they get the blame if it fails.
If you have a task without a name, you don’t have a task. You have a hope.
The Prompt
Act as a Project Management Auditor (Apple DRI style).
Here is a list of our current strategic initiatives and the "Teams" assigned to them:
[Paste List, e.g., "Website Relaunch - Marketing Team"].
1. The Audit: Flag every initiative that lacks a single human name attached to it.
2. The Assignment: Define the specific scope of the DRI for each project. (They don't do all the work, but they make all the decisions).
3. The Conflict: If two people are listed as "Co-Leads," explain why this will fail and force me to pick one.
The Executive Upgrade: Subscribers Only
Consensus vs. Consultation.
Assigning a DRI scares people. They think it means they can’t ask for help.
You need to clarify decision rights.
The biggest bottleneck in your company is people waiting for you to decide, because they don’t know they are allowed to.
We use Bain’s RAPID framework (Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, Decide) to fix this.
Here are the two Governance Protocols to clear the bottleneck.
Follow-Up Prompt 1: The RAPID Matrix
(Use this for complex cross-functional projects)
Act as an Organisational Designer.
We are launching [Project X].
Involved departments: Sales, Marketing, Product, Legal.
Create a RAPID Decision Matrix.
1. Who has the "D" (Sole Decision Maker)?
2. Who has the "I" (Must provide Input, but can be ignored)?
3. Who has the "A" (Must Agree/Veto power - keep this list tiny)?
Clarify exactly what happens if the "Input" people disagree with the "Decision" maker. (Hint: The Decision maker wins).
Follow-Up Prompt 2: The “Bus Factor” Audit
(Use this to de-risk your DRIs)
Act as a Risk Officer.
We have identified [Employee Name] as the DRI for [Critical Project].
They are the only one who understands [Specific Code/Process/Client].
1. The Bus Factor: If this person gets hit by a bus tomorrow, does the project die?
2. The Extraction: Draft a plan to extract 80% of their tacit knowledge into a document in the next 2 weeks.
3. The Deputy: Who is the "Shadow DRI" we need to tag in on emails starting today?