Owner decision
Which decisions must stop waiting for the owner?
Stop routing repeated, reversible decisions to the owner when a trained person has the information and capacity to act and the downside can be bounded. Keep owner approval for reserved, irreversible, or business-changing decisions, then name the limit and escalation condition.
Use this now: Keep a one-week decision interruption log and transfer one normal decision with a written limit.
Owner worksheet
Owner-interruption transfer filter
| Check | Write down |
|---|---|
| Interruption inventory | Count the decisions returned to the owner during one normal week, group them by decision type, and record the waiting time each creates. |
| Reversibility test | For each repeated decision type, state the credible downside, recovery time, and cost if a trained team member decides incorrectly within a written limit. |
| Delegate readiness | Name the receiving role, the information and capability it already has, the missing preparation, and the evidence that it can make the decision without hidden owner review. |
| Authority envelope | Write the amount, condition, customer impact, or risk boundary the role may decide within, plus the exact exception that returns the choice to the owner. |
| Transfer trial | Select one decision queue, record the transfer date and review cadence, and compare owner interruptions and decision delay before and after the trial. |
Close the decision: Transfer a repeated, reversible decision only when the role, limit, evidence, and escalation path are explicit; keep reserved decisions with the owner.
Worked example
Illustrative owner-decision queue: transfer, trial, or reserve
Illustrative only: Illustrative operating example only; replace inputs with verified business evidence and do not present the example as a universal benchmark or achieved result.
| Step | Illustrative input | Replace with your evidence | Completed test or status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queue observed | Eighteen owner interruptions in one illustrative week: refunds, rush-price exceptions, supplier expedite requests, and one 12-month customer commitment. | One real week of decision-log entries with timestamps and decision type. | The queue is grouped before authority is changed. |
| Reversible downside | Refunds up to $150 can be corrected within two business days; rush-price exceptions up to 8% can be reviewed before invoicing; the 12-month commitment cannot be unwound cheaply. | Actual recovery cost, timing, customer consequence, and contract boundary. | Only the first two classes qualify for a bounded transfer test. |
| Receiving role and context | Customer lead receives refund history and policy; sales lead receives cost floor and capacity; neither receives contract authority. | Training record, current policy, cost/capacity input, and access proof. | Context is explicit and the long commitment stays reserved. |
| Authority classification | TRANSFER NOW: refunds <=$150. BOUNDED TRIAL: rush-price exception <=8% when contribution floor holds. OWNER RESERVED: commitments longer than 90 days. | Actual governing policy and owner-approved limits. | Every class has a limit and escalation trigger. |
| Trial close | Run for two weeks; pass only if owner interruptions fall from the recorded baseline, no limit is breached, and every exception is reviewed within one day. | Before/after log and exception review receipt. | Decision: transfer refunds, trial rush-price exceptions, retain long commitments. |
Decision produced: Run a bounded transfer for two reversible queues and keep the irreversible commitment with the owner until governing authority changes.
