The Seven-Day Decision Handover Plan
Hand over one
recurring decision.
Without losing control.
A seven-day practical exercise: choose one decision, agree who owns it, set the boundaries and review what happens.
13 pages · Fillable worksheets · Free to use · Your free Plan
Start here
A small handover.
A useful first result.
Start with one decision that regularly comes back to you. Over seven days, you will write a usable handover agreement and test it on a suitable real case. The aim is one ordinary decision handled within agreed boundaries without needing your approval. If no suitable case occurs, keep the agreement and test it when one does.
Choose one manageable, reversible case to improve first. Keep legal commitments, safety matters, major spending and other genuinely reserved decisions within their existing authority.
Day 1 · Direction
Name the work that keeps returning
Day 1 · Direction
Name the work that keeps returning
List three things you were asked to decide yesterday. For each, write what was waiting, who brought it to you and what outcome mattered. Choose one repeated, bounded decision rather than trying to delegate your whole job.
Illustrative example
A delivery manager asks you to approve every ordinary delivery-slot change, even when the new slot meets the existing customer promise.
Evidence to keep: One named decision, its desired outcome and a recent example. Ask the team whether they recognise the same pattern.
Day 2 · Decisions
Find the missing authority
Day 2 · Decisions
Find the missing authority
Ask the person closest to the work: “What could you decide yourself? What would you still need from me?” Listen for unclear limits, unavailable information, competing priorities or a decision you routinely reopen. A job title does not settle these questions.
Illustrative example
The manager knows the available slots but does not know whether you will accept a different choice from the one you would make.
Evidence to keep: A written explanation of why the decision returns. Distinguish missing authority from a genuine capability or information gap.
Day 3 · Leadership
Agree ownership of the outcome
Day 3 · Leadership
Agree ownership of the outcome
Name one decision owner. Agree the result they own and which trade-offs they can make. Check that they have the information, time and capability to act. Responsibility without those resources will simply create a more accountable person waiting for permission.
Illustrative example
The delivery manager owns keeping the promise, choosing an available slot and confirming it with the customer.
Evidence to keep: The owner can describe the outcome and their authority in their own words. You both understand what remains reserved.
Day 4 · Decisions
Write the limits and exceptions
Day 4 · Decisions
Write the limits and exceptions
Agree the ordinary case the owner can handle, the limits of that authority and the conditions that require escalation. Define what information an exception should carry. Use existing commercial and risk limits; do not invent a new spending allowance to make delegation look complete.
Illustrative example
An available slot within the existing commitment can be chosen. A broken promise, unapproved extra spend or displaced commitment needs the agreed exception route.
Evidence to keep: A short decision record covering owner, outcome, permitted choices, limits and escalation trigger. Test it against yesterday’s example.
Day 5 · Data
Give the owner a useful picture
Day 5 · Data
Give the owner a useful picture
Identify the minimum information needed to make the decision: perhaps capacity, margin, customer commitment or cash timing. Ask where it comes from and how current it is. If it is unreliable, name who will correct it. More dashboards are not a substitute for one trustworthy answer.
Illustrative example
The manager checks the current capacity plan and the recorded customer commitment before choosing a slot.
Evidence to keep: The owner can find the required information without asking you to join the dots. Unknown information is visible rather than guessed.
Day 6 · Delivery
Let an ordinary case move
Day 6 · Delivery
Let an ordinary case move
Use the agreement on the next suitable case. Let the owner make the decision within the boundaries. Resist reopening a reasonable choice simply because you would have chosen differently. Intervene when an agreed exception occurs, and record why.
Illustrative example
The manager chooses a suitable available slot and confirms it. The founder hears about it at the normal review, rather than approving it first.
Evidence to keep: What was decided, what happened next and whether founder intervention was required. If no suitable case occurred, record “not yet observed”.
Day 7 · Leadership
Review the mechanism
Day 7 · Leadership
Review the mechanism
Review the case together. Did the outcome hold? Was information missing? Were the limits clear? What made the work return? Improve the agreement before expanding it. A quiet week alone is not proof of independence; the useful evidence is how work moved and who decided.
Illustrative example
The ordinary case moved without founder approval. An exception returned because capacity information was missing; the team agrees who will keep it current.
Evidence to keep: Keep, change or investigate the decision agreement. Record: what worked, what came back to you, why it returned and what needs changing. Count suitable cases handled by the owner, cases needing your approval and agreed exceptions separately. Set a next review date; do not count an untested agreement as a successful handover.
The authority map
Three routes.
No guessing.
Agree the route before the next case. A routine update is not a request for approval.
01 / Decide and inform
Within the agreed authority: make the decision, act and report through the normal review.
02 / Recommend for approval
Outside your authority: bring evidence, options and a recommendation, plus the specific approval needed.
03 / Escalate immediately
An agreed urgent exception: contact the named person with the facts and immediate action required. Do not wait for the routine review.
Illustrative example, not a client claim
What a usable
agreement looks like.
Your business must define its own actual limits.
- Recurring decision
- Move an ordinary delivery slot.
- Outcome
- Meet the existing customer commitment.
- Owner
- Delivery manager: decides, confirms and follows through.
- Authority
- Choose an available slot within the existing promise.
- Limits
- No unapproved extra spend or displacement of another commitment.
- Information
- Current capacity plan and recorded customer deadline.
- Escalation
- A breached promise or unavailable capacity goes to the named commercial owner with options and a recommendation.
- Review
- Review the decision log at the next agreed check-in.
Keep this with the owner
Your decision
handover agreement.
Complete together. A job title alone does not transfer authority.
Reference: the five areas of Founder Independence
Where are you still carrying the business?
Use the five areas below to recognise where your involvement is essential and where an operating agreement is missing. Bring a recent example to each question. Mark it as handled by the team, requiring your involvement, or not yet observed. This is a reflection tool, not a score or verified diagnosis.
Sales independence
Can we win business without me driving every sale?
You open the doors, shape every proposal or rescue the close. The pipeline moves when you push it.
Check a real case: Choose a recent opportunity. Who owned the next step, the commercial recommendation and the follow-through? Would it have moved if you were unavailable?
Starting action: Name an opportunity owner. Agree the next outcome, the pricing and promise boundaries, and when your involvement is genuinely needed.
People independence
Can my team lead, decide and take ownership without constantly checking with me?
People have jobs and tasks, but you still settle priorities, resolve disagreements and check that things happen.
Check a real case: Ask one manager what outcome they own and which choices they can make without approval. Compare their answer with yours.
Starting action: Agree one outcome and the authority to deliver it. Ask for a reasoned recommendation when a choice falls outside that authority.
Operations independence
Can we deliver reliably without me coordinating or rescuing the work?
Handoffs, capacity clashes and delivery exceptions come back to you. Work depends on what you remember.
Check a real case: Follow one recent job from promise to delivery. Where did it wait for you, and who owned resolving that interruption?
Starting action: Give one person ownership of the delivery outcome, a visible status and an agreed route for exceptions.
Finance independence
Can we understand the numbers and make sound commercial decisions without me interpreting everything?
Reports arrive, but you still have to explain what they mean, chase a forecast or decide what action follows.
Check a real case: Ask the finance owner what the current cash, margin or forecast picture means for the next decision. Can they explain the assumptions and recommend an action?
Starting action: Agree the information needed, who interprets it, when it is reviewed and which financial decisions remain reserved.
Customer independence
Can we retain and develop customer relationships without me being the essential contact?
Customers ask for you, difficult conversations reach you first, and renewals or expansion depend on your relationship.
Check a real case: Choose one important customer. Who knows the commitments, owns the next conversation and can resolve an ordinary issue within agreed limits?
Starting action: Name a relationship owner and agree service, promise and escalation boundaries. Introduce their authority clearly to the customer.
Reference: recommendations and review rhythm
Bring a recommendation, not just a problem
- Situation
- What has happened, and what outcome needs protecting?
- Evidence
- What do we know? What is uncertain?
- Options
- What realistic choices have you considered, with costs and trade-offs?
- Recommendation
- What do you recommend, and why?
- Authority
- Can you act within the agreed limits, or which specific approval do you need?
- Follow-through
- Who will act, by when, and when will we review the result?
Stay in control through a useful review
Agree a review rhythm suited to the work. The owner brings the outcome, what was decided, evidence of progress, emerging risks and any recommendation needing approval. Review exceptions sooner when the agreed trigger occurs. Use this visibility to improve the agreement rather than reopening every reasonable choice.
What worked?
What came back to you?
Review one real case together. Record why work returned, what needs changing and when you will review it again. A quiet week alone is not proof of independence.
Want my help choosing where to start? Send me five recurring decisions and a short team outline. I’ll personally review them and identify one suitable handover to try first.
Explore Antony’s personal review · £47 →Your Decision Handover Map and short recording arrive by email within five working days of receiving all the information needed for your review. The offer page explains the scope and current availability. Your free Plan is yours whether you buy or not.
Optional: explore the wider pattern with the free Assessment
Want to explore the wider pattern yourself? The free Assessment asks 20 questions about Direction, Decisions, Delivery, Data and Leadership. A score is not a verified diagnosis.