Library/T-02
Decision Rights Map
Write down who decides what, so decisions stop defaulting upward.
VestT-02
The pattern it solves
Decisions escalate because nobody is sure they are allowed to make them.
Signals you need it
The same kind of decision is asked about repeatedly. Different people give different answers. Decisions wait for a meeting.
Use it when
The owner is a bottleneck on decisions rather than on work.
Do not use it when
The decisions are genuinely new each time — there is nothing to map yet.
Naming where a tool does not apply is part of the tool.
What it takes in
The recurring decisions in the business; the roles that exist.
What you end up with
A one-page map: decision → who decides → who is consulted → when it escalates.
The steps
- 1.List recurring decisions (pricing exceptions, refunds, scheduling, hiring, vendor choice, spend).
- 2.For each, name the lowest role that can decide well.
- 3.Name the escalation condition.
- 4.Publish it where the team works.
- 5.Revisit after 30 days.
How it returns time
Removes the round trip to the owner for decisions someone else can already make.
What to measure
Decisions escalated per week; elapsed time from question to decision.
What to measure, before and after. Not what anyone achieved — there are no client results to report.
Where it comes from
General management practice (decision rights).
What it fixes
The leaks this addresses
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