1️⃣ A RACI chart is not a decision system Research and work across more than 100 companies found four recurring errors: unclear goals, static role lists, vague role definitions and hierarchy overriding the agreed owner.
💡 Why it matters Define the decision first, agree observable rights with the people involved and revisit them as the work changes.
☕ Coffee talk Does the person marked accountable still need the boss’s nod before acting?
2️⃣ Run the team below full capacity Plaid COO Eric Sager says he deliberately pays for spare capacity. It let the company move quickly when OpenAI, Perplexity and Replit became major opportunities.
💡 Why it matters Ring-fence headroom before demand arrives. A team scheduled to 100% can only respond by dropping work or overloading people.
☕ Coffee talk Could OpenAI land as a customer next week without moving every other deadline?
3️⃣ A good year can hide a weak business Bain says insurers had strong growth and profit in 2025, yet direct premiums doubled over a decade while expense ratios fell only one percentage point.
💡 Why it matters Separate cyclical lift from structural progress. Track unit cost, access and customer value before calling a good year a better business.
☕ Coffee talk Would the 2025 result still look good without rate increases and a mild catastrophe year?