Accountability: This belongs to the ONE person who has the “ability to count” — who is tracking the progress and giving voice (screaming loudly) when issues arise within a defined task, team, function, or division. It doesn’t mean he or she makes all the decisions (or even any decisions) — which is why people often talk about leaderless teams. However, someone must still be accountable. The rule: If more than one person is accountable, then no one is accountable, and that’s when things fall through the cracks.

Responsibility: This falls to anyone with the “ability to respond” proactively to support the team. It includes all the people who touch a particular process or issue.

Authority: This belongs to the person or team with the final decision-making power.

A common mistake is simply noting down KPIs that are representative of the daily and weekly activities of the person listed for a particular function. It’s critical to zero-base your KPI decisions. Do this by covering up the names listed in the “Person Accountable” column

(metaphorically or physically) and then decide on KPIs for each function that align with the business model of the company. en consider if the person in the job function has the skills and aptitude to deliver on those KPIs. A mismatch might indicate a potential problem.

ACTION: For each key process you’ve identified, decide who within the organization will be accountable. These people are then accountable to the head of operations.

Last, choose a handful of Rocks — priorities that must be accomplished to achieve the quarterly financial outcomes and Critical Number. Again, less is more. Finally, place the initials of the person accountable for each Rock in the small corresponding “Who” box.

Short-term agenda, long-term agenda - the time frame doesn’t much matter if the organization is not operating smoothly enough. “One of the biggest contributions a leader can make, although it’s often underrated, is defining the operating mechanisms - the meetings, the information flows, and the decision-making process used to conduct day-to-day business,” says Dan Kerpelman, president of Kodak’s Health Imaging Group. Sometimes you need to be directive.