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👋🏻 Good morning; this is Refresh. Rethink—the newsletter to reinvent yourself as a founder and become a 10x leader.

Has your week been good?

Last week I wrote about moving away from "Just getting better." We're here to transform our lives as founders.

One helluva way to tap into becoming a 10x leader is to turn on your delegation God mode.

You see, delegating tasks is the beginner mode; trusting parts of your organization to people is delegation God mode.

Nothing, I repeat; nothing in your organization should live without an owner, like a smelly street dog.

So, today I want to make you a God in the delegation.

Here's how:

The RACI Matrix.

I was introduced to RACI 20 years ago ( yes, that long) when I joined a warehouse construction project as operations manager for H&M's Logistics division in Belgium.

Excited by the clarity it created, I asked the project leader back then whether it could also be used for warehouse operations.

He said no. He noted that it was only for projects and would not work for other "fixed" organizations.

I did it anyways. 😇

When I implemented a modified version in one of the warehouses, I saw an almost 50% increase in efficiency within the first six months.

And so, in my consulting practice for the past six years, I've been using my version of the RACI matrix with a methodology that helps my clients bring insane clarity to all aspects of their organization. And, more importantly, a structure that aligns with their Mission, Vision, and Values.

Here's how that goes in a nutshell:

Step 1 - Structure the Organization:

Break down your organization into 3 segments:

Those are:

1️⃣ Business Areas

2️⃣ Work Areas

3️⃣ Major tasks

Let's elaborate

Define Business Areas

A Business Area is a part of the organization with the same focus, resources, and process.

These are the big stones of your organization. Usually led by 1 person with accountability.

Some examples are Marketing, Sales, or Product. Often these names get generic, but what is important here is to design business areas that matter to your organization. Name them as they suit your uniqueness.

Aligning the business areas with mission, vision, and values also matter in designing these work areas!

For example, one of my client's core values is "community." Guess what one of them became? Yes, Community!

What are yours?

Then there are Work Areas

Work Areas

A work area is a collection of major tasks for which a group is responsible. Also called "departments," but sometimes too small to be a department that a manager leads. “Work area” covers both.

An example is Business Area - Product > Work Area - Product Quality.

Work areas create clarity for multiple people who are responsible within a Business Area. One person can only be accountable for a work area.

Are you still with me? Good

The next one is major tasks.

Major Tasks

These are the big things that the work area does daily. These are the things people get assigned responsibility for and execute on.

Not the tiny little ad hoc stuff. But the task is part of the processes in the work area. The tasks that bring real value.

For example, under work area Product Quality, you can have a major task > " daily control of new incoming stock."

You get the point.

That's all you need to know for now.

Step 2 - Assign the segments using RACI

RACI stands for RESPONSIBLE, ACCOUNTABLE, CONSULTED, INFORMED.

Let's break that down.

🔹RESPONSIBLE

Everyone who gets assigned to a major task gets responsibility for the delivery. That's the R. Responsible people ensure they allocate the right resources within the agreed timeframe and achieve the expected outcomes. In other words, they get shit done in time.

🔹ACCOUNTABLE

The accountable one oversees that the business area or work area delivers results. And that the results live up to the expectations. The accountable person also ensures the responsible people get access to "weapons" to get their stuff done.

Only one person can be accountable for work and/or business areas.

🔹CONSULTED

Do you have Einsteins on your team? You better want to involve them with their expertise in crucial decision-making processes. The Einsteins get the letter C - Consulted. They get consulted before the accountable person makes a final decision.

Usually, founders give themselves C's on some of the money-making pieces of the organization. So they can play their genius in the rocket designs.

🔹 INFORMED

Then there's I for Informed. Your pinnacle of autonomy achievements is when you have I on some aspects of your business and no R A or C's. Informed people are kept in the loop of what's happening in the areas / major tasks that matter to them most.

Now that you know what the letters stand for, you assign people to each area and major task.

Then move to step 3

Step 3 - Build RACI in Your Wiki or Workflow Tool.

One source of truth to rule them all. Nah, just kidding. Not to rule them but for all of your teams to rule themselves. Autonomous. Clear. Happy.

Yes, that's what RACI does, I promise.

So if you have a Wiki or tool like Asana, here's how one lf my clients did an awesome job building it out:

Do you want an Asana template for RACI? Let me know by replying to this mail!

RACI is more than delegating tasks; it's delegating success.

Try out RACI, and let me know if you have questions.

10x-ing myself and my business.

Last week I took steps myself too in growing my business 10x in the next 12 months.

Here's what I did last week:

• Delegated twice as much to my Virtual Assistant

• Put out Job ads for a long-term copywriter to help edit raw content and write marketing stuff.

• Double down on productizing my framework so I can work with 10x more clients from 2-3 at a time to 20-30 at a time.

• Training my social media assistant to repurpose more content on all platforms.

• Started to build a company Wiki to prepare for more team members.

• Build a new offer that's more compelling and transformative for my clients

Here's what I'm planning on doing next:

• Outsource massive outreach on Linkedin and Email (Jul)

• Enter the US East Coast Market next month. (Jul)

• Get an experienced marketing manager on the team (Aug/Sep)

• Automate and outsource more in my private life.

Do you wonder how RACI or any of the other aspects of the REMODE framework can help you?

Reply “RACI” to this email, and I’ll get you the details.