After the third day of long distance driving, yesterday’s events become our shared mythology. The three of us hone our stories of the road together. We want the adventure to have a myth of our making.

Our travels are a demonstration journey, a test of optimism and imagination. Twenty-six hours in the car with husband, wife and young adult daughter: this could be hell, you know. Our trip is spotted with highs and a few lows (like my passionate rant on why I deserved to sit in the front seat). By and large, though, we do just fine.

It’s the commitment to Chicago-by-Sunday that does it. There just isn’t any choice about whether we “get there or not”. And we’ve got Rules of the Road to live by written the day we leave Portland by the advanced soul that is our daughter:

Guidelines for Roadtrip Chicago June, 2011

1. Don’t be mean! (Dad). If getting frustrated, hold your breath for 5 long seconds. Try not to suffocate. Then use your words, refer to the Guidelines if necessary.
2. Spontaneity is a good thing! Be willing to adventure. Only be spontaneous if planned into daily schedule (i.e. “ahead of schedule, allow for spontaneity between 1-3PM).
3. If you need to go to the bathroom, ask. Do NOT, under any circumstances, go in a water bottle while the car is driving.
4. Do not feel (too much) stress.
5. Have a good time.
6. Don’t try and control something that you cannot control.
7. Take your turn driving, but if you feel like you are falling asleep, tell the other passengers.
8. Try not to sleep all day while someone else is driving. It is rude and may cause the driver to fall asleep b/c there is no one to talk to.
9. Be willing to stop for ice cream.
10. Don’t stop for hitchhikers.
11. Laugh!

Vision, mission, values and a goal. Even on vacation, I can’t leave strategic planning behind.

Our story begins…

(Fact) “Joe left the room when I asked him to explain why he thought we could increase our revenues by 500% next year.”
(Assumption) “He’s probably bought into those crazy claims being made by [insert consulting company] about [insert latest magic pill]…”

PAUSE… while we take a moment to analyze the story above.

We collect a lot of information from our clients when we start a project. We do this in part to help our clients create a shared understanding about their current state. Current state is consulting lingo for what’s up right now.

Key to the concept of current state is understanding what is fact, and what is assumption. Ignoring or avoiding a conversation about the difference between the two can put any endeavor at risk.

According to our friends at Merriam-Webster…

A fact is “something that truly exists or happens: something that has actual existence.”

and again,

An assumption is “something that is believed to be true or probably true but that is not known to be true: something that is assumed.”

Here are some quick thoughts to consider about facts vs. assumptions.

1. Always identify and separate what is fact vs. assumption. This requires a willingness to not only present your ideas but an openness to answer questions about its validity.
2. Substantiate facts (or assumptions someone thinks is fact). Sometimes it helps to have a neutral party (internal or external) do this for you.
3. Resist the urge to assign motive to facts based on unsubstantiated assumptions you make. Giving in to this temptation is an instant recipe for creating unnecessary negativity.

RESUME STORY.

Joe came back in the room 5 minutes later to explain that he just had to go to the bathroom. Then he proceeded to substantiate his position that he could increase revenues by 500% because he just licensed [insert latest productivity tool]…

If you don’t know RASCI and haven’t read the J-Stroke (our newsletter), you’ll want to read the following excerpt to get caught up. Otherwise, skip to my tips on creating a successful RASCI chart starting today.

At The Canoe Group, we use the RASCI model as the cornerstone for devising clear lines of responsibility from the early stages of pre-planning through the implementation of the project/initiative. It mitigates project risk and models good management behavior that carries forward (beneficially) from our consulting activities.

 

Benefits of using RACSI

• Determines ownership of a particular project or task
• Promotes teamwork by clarifying roles and responsibilities
• Improves communication by getting the right groups involved
• Increases efficiency by eliminating duplication of effort
• Reduces misunderstanding between and across employees and key stakeholder groups
• Improves decision-making by ensuring the correct people are involved
• Provides the foundation for future alignment around a given project or initiative

Understanding the RASCI acronym

For every step of your planning project, you should define the following:

R = Responsible The person who is ultimately responsible for delivering the project and/or task successfully.

A = Accountable The person who has ultimate accountability and authority; they are the person to whom “R” is accountable.

S = Supportive The person or team of individuals who are needed to do “the real work.”

C = Consulted Someone whose input adds value and/or buy-in is essential for ultimate implementation.

I = Informed The person or groups of individuals who need to be notified of results or actions taken but don’t need to be involved in the decision-making process.

 

Reasons why you should consider using RASCI

Still not sure if this will help you? The following are some common symptoms we see in our work that points to a need for RASCI.

• You have “too many cooks in the kitchen” – multiple individuals think they are responsible for the same project and/or task resulting in duplication of effort and decreased morale.
• You have taken action within your organization only to find out later that you have damaged a relationship with a key employee/stakeholder group because they weren’t involved in the process earlier.
• You have poor communication or infighting that occurs between departments around day-to-day business operations.
• A critical task in the implementation of an earlier initiative does not happen and you find out that nobody believes they had responsibility for the task.
• Some individuals within your organization feel that they should be consulted during a decision-making process when you think they should be informed.

Here we share one method for clarifying roles and responsibilities using the RASCI model. While a project manager could individually accomplish this, we encourage our clients to include other key members of the project team in defining the RASCI. It simply improves the results of any planning process.

6 Steps To Creating A Successful RASCI Chart

1. Introduce/review RASCI definitions with your team. Note: see the above section titled Understanding the RASCI acronym.
2. Identify and list all of the activities/tasks involved in the project down the vertical axis of a chart or spreadsheet.
3. Identify all of the people/roles involved in the project and list them across the horizontal axis or spreadsheet.
4. Identify the R, A, S, C, and I for each activity/task on your vertical axis.
5. Review and discuss gaps or overlaps in your work. Note: Gaps exist when you have an activity/task that doesn’t have a ‘R.’ Overlaps can occur when you have multiple ‘R’s for any given task and can be more difficult to resolve. Frequently, this can be accomplished by breaking the identified task into sub-tasks.
6. Share your RASCI chart with a broader group for feedback (if beneficial), make final revisions and get started on your project!

Sample RASCI Chart

Do you have a different planning tool you use to clarify roles/responsibilities? Or a comment or question about RASCI?

Please leave a comment below in the box and I’ll be happy to respond.