Most founders can hand off a task. Handing off a decision is harder, because the decision feels like the part that makes the company yours. The result is a team that waits for you to approve things that were never really in doubt.
Sort decisions into three groups
- Yours alone: things that change the direction or the risk of the company, such as raising money, hiring leaders and changing the product's focus.
- Shared: decisions you want input on, where a teammate proposes and you confirm.
- Theirs: decisions that are reversible, cheap and inside someone's own area.
Write the rule, not just the answer
When you decide something, also write the rule behind it. For example: support can refund up to a set amount without asking. A rule answers the next ten similar questions. A one-off answer answers one.
Set limits people can see
- Give a number where you can, such as a spending or discount limit.
- Name who decides when you are away.
- Say what should always come to you, so everything else can stop.
Review, do not re-decide
Once a week, look at the decisions the team made on their own. Praise the good ones, adjust a rule if one went wrong, and resist the urge to take the decision back. Trust grows when people see their calls stand.
Try it
AskMyStartup is an AI clone that answers from facts and rules you approve, and says so when it does not know. It is in private beta. You can join the waitlist with your email below.