Lore

Three-Branch Responsibility Logic

A logical chain for deciding a leader's responsibility toward an unsolved problem, to be worked through in order:

1. Own and fix it directly.
2. If you can't fix it alone, work with the broader org to find a solution.
3. If neither is possible, accept that there's no great solution available — while still doing what you can to make the team and product successful despite that gap.

The branches are meant to be exhausted in sequence before a leader concludes they bear no responsibility for an outcome; jumping straight to branch 3 without attempting 1 and 2 is treated as an abdication, not a legitimate conclusion.

Closely related to Signing Up for Outcomes vs. Feeling Responsible for Outcomes: branch 3 is exactly the situation where a leader may be unable to formally sign up for an outcome but can still choose to feel responsible for it. Also an operational instance of All Problems Are People Problems, and People Problems Are Leadership Problems.

Из тем: Product Leadership and Career Craft