Delegation: freedom to act with clear accountability
Scaling requires more and more sound decisions to be made without the CEO. That takes context, competence, authority and clear boundaries.
Distinguish input from the right to decide
Atlassian describes DACI as a way to distinguish the person who drives preparation of a decision from those who approve it, contribute information and need to be informed. Its practical value is to remove confusion between the right to be heard and the right to decide. The matrix helps with complex cross-functional issues, but not every everyday decision needs a formal process.14
The process depends on reversibility
In his 2024 letter to shareholders, Andy Jassy explains the difference between reversible decisions, which can be made quickly and locally, and decisions that are difficult to reverse and need more careful review. He also describes the principle of open disagreement before a decision and full commitment afterwards. In your own company, match the depth of review to the cost of a mistake and the ability to change the choice.26
Autonomy requires information
In Netflix’s Culture Memo, important decisions have an informed captain. That person is expected to seek dissent and subsequently review the outcome. Leaders provide context and coach the team; the principle does not rule out intervention in a crisis or where there is a risk of material harm.25
Do not turn consultation into a veto
When a decision affects many functions, each must provide the necessary facts, but not every function should approve it. Identify one decision owner, mandatory consultations and cases where the risk function has a legal or policy-defined right to stop an action. DACI in Atlassian’s practice helps distinguish these roles, but not every everyday decision needs a full matrix. After delegating, the CEO should not take back the choice because of a difference in taste—only because agreed boundaries have been breached.14
Judge quality by more than speed
Delegation succeeds when decisions are made closer to the information and mistakes remain visible and correctable. Give reversible decisions a short test cycle; give irreversible decisions a broader examination of scenarios, legal consequences and reputation. Netflix describes context and the informed captain; Amazon describes different depths of process for different decision types. In both cases, autonomy does not mean invisibility: record the rationale, expected result and review date. This makes learning possible instead of searching for someone to blame after failure.2526
Inside the CEO practice
Create a catalogue of the ten decisions most often delayed. For each, identify an owner, deadline, budget limit, mandatory consultations and grounds for escalation. Assess not just speed, but also implementation quality, repeated reconsideration and the consequences of mistakes.
Questions before a decision
- Where has consultation quietly become a veto?
- Which decision can be tested with a small, reversible step?
- Does the team know when it must return to the CEO?
Sources
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- 25Netflix · Netflix Culture Memo2024 edition; checked 2026-10-02
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