For owners with managers · start with the work
How to hold managers accountable without micromanaging
You want managers to own results without checking every task yourself. More updates will not help if responsibility is clear but authority, priorities or inputs are not.
- Agree one observable result, its owner and a realistic review date.
- Make decision rights, limits and escalation triggers explicit.
- Ask what blocked the last missed commitment, using a specific example.
- Review the result and the obstacle; test one change before adding another reporting layer.
Accountability needs more than a named owner
Separate a missed commitment from an impossible assignment. A manager can be responsible for delivery while still needing your approval for every exception. Ask about the work before asking people to rate each other. If expectations, authority and inputs were clear, address the missed commitment directly; this process does not excuse it.
- Unclear result: agree what done means and which business measure matters.
- Responsibility without authority: identify which decisions still require the owner.
- Competing demands or missing inputs: examine the actual sequence before adding supervision.
A useful question for the next accountability conversation
“Walk me through the last commitment that slipped. What could you decide, what did you need from someone else, and when did you know the date was at risk?” Collect the accounts separately before the review meeting. A check is for understanding the work, not an employee rating or an anonymous performance survey.
Worked example · fictional
From an explanation to something you can check
An owner sees missed delivery dates as weak accountability. The manager describes urgent sales requests displacing agreed work. A team member records three midweek priority changes. The owner tests a single exception rule for two weeks and reviews both on-time work and urgent customer needs. The test may fail or need adjustment; no improvement is assumed. Fictional example.
Read the complete fictional investigation · Design a small test
A Reality Check of one recurring business problem
Bring one problem. We help you run the check.
Best suited to owners of established B2B service businesses with roughly 20–75 people and managers in place. You have already tried a fix and are considering a hire, a delegation change or a new process. Start with two or three people who have seen the work firsthand.
- Your starting picture. Describe the desired result, your explanation and what you need to find out.
- Independent accounts. We help frame a neutral question about the work. Contributors answer before seeing your explanation or each other’s responses.
- A comparison by an agreed date. We bring together the accounts, supporting records, disagreements and missing voices. Missing evidence stays missing.
- One test and a dated review. You choose the action, its limits and expected result. We agree when to compare it with what happened and what to report back to contributors.
Delivered with hands-on help from the founder. This is a manually coordinated check. Before anyone contributes, we agree how responses will be collected, who can see them and the review dates. A named response is not anonymous; confidentiality does not guarantee candour. There is no promise to identify the true root cause or solve the problem.
Scope and price before you start
Introductory cohort: 3–5 accepted companies, no fee. One problem, two or three contributors, one comparison and one follow-up review. Acceptance and dates are confirmed personally; sending a request does not reserve a place.
Next cohort: proposed one-off fee of $750 per assisted check. That cohort is not open for purchase here. Availability, the work included and the price are confirmed in writing before you agree. There is no automatic renewal.
Continuing software use is separate: current annual company licenses are $2,400 / $4,800 / $9,000 for 20–50 / 51–100 / 101–150 people. See annual license scope. Preparing a card or sending this request creates no company access, invitation or payment.
Look · your own starting view
Prepare your Focus Card.
Write four short lines in your own words. This is a local draft in this page, not an activated company pilot. Your words stay in this page unless you request the optional card email or send the separate assisted-check request below. They are not transferred to sign-up. Download the card before leaving if you want to keep it.
Free now: prepare and download this card, or request a place in the introductory assisted-check cohort. We confirm participation personally before work begins.
Current annual company licenses: 20–50 people: $2,400/year · 51–100: $4,800/year · 101–150: $9,000/year. Software licenses are separate from the assisted check. See license scope.
Example starting lines, not a diagnosis. Edit them to describe your own situation before sharing.
Focus Card · owner-authored local draft
Your starting picture
- What result do you want?
- Not entered
- How do you currently explain the situation?
- Not entered
- What is the most important thing you do not know yet?
- Not entered
- What question would be worth investigating?
- Not entered
Review a request for help with this card →
Copying the card below does not send it. Review the outline and give your consent before submitting.
A draft to examine, not an accepted diagnosis. No company has been created and no invitation has been sent.
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Use the card above, or write a short outline here. We will review whether one assisted check fits your situation and reply to agree the scope and dates. No account or payment is needed to request it.
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