If two people are responsible for watering a plant, it dies from either overwatering or neglect. This is why scaling companies must be zealous about assigning a single Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) for every key initiative. Shared ownership means no ownership, especially for cross-functional projects.

To combat diffused responsibility, starting a committee at Coinbase requires explicit CEO or COO approval. This forces the assignment of a single "Directly Responsible Individual" (DRI), ensuring clear ownership, accountability, and faster decision-making.

Square's public roadmap serves a dual purpose. While it informs customers, its primary internal function is to create accountability. Committing to features publicly forces the organization to deliver on its promises with speed and quality, preventing internal delays.

As companies grow, decision-making can slow down due to ambiguity. Plaid combats this by explicitly naming one person as the on-point decision-maker for every task at the conclusion of meetings. This clarifies accountability and accelerates execution.

Gumroad's CEO credits their rapid development to his role as a solo decision-maker. This structure eliminates the lengthy processes of gaining internal buy-in and creating extensive documentation (PRDs, specs) common in larger organizations, which are often more about alignment than execution.

Costolo argues against the common reaction to add process steps to prevent future mistakes, which leads to bloat like 17-page launch checklists. Instead, he advises assigning a clear DRI and managing for outcomes, not adherence to processes.

When a project stagnates, it's often because "everyone's accountable, which means no one's accountable." To combat this diffusion of responsibility, assign one "single-threaded owner" who is publicly responsible for reporting progress and triaging issues. This clarity, combined with assigning individual names to action items, fosters true ownership.

A product leader's job is not to synthesize opinions until everyone agrees, which leads to slow progress. Instead, they must create clarity by taking broad input but ensuring a single, accountable owner makes the final decision. Committees optimize for safety, not outcomes.

A Tech Lead can't do everything. Using "recursive accountability," the lead (as the Directly Responsible Individual) delegates ownership of sub-problems to others. While they own their pieces, the lead remains ultimately accountable for the entire project, preventing a "that wasn't my part" mentality.