“That's not my job” costs more than you think

Talking with a friend about roles in companies, a very common case came up.

Here it goes…

An analyst.

An accountant.

A treasurer.

Each one with a clear responsibility.

And that's good.

But sometimes something curious happens…

One day someone on the purchasing team needed a very specific piece of information.

They were evaluating whether it was a good moment to buy an important product for the company.

There was a window of time to make the decision.

They needed the analysis to decide whether to buy right then or wait.

They sent the email.

Nobody answered.

They looked for one person.

Then another.

Then another.

And every answer was more or less the same:

“That's not my job.”

“The analyst should send that, it's his responsibility.”

“I'm busy right now… I'll look at it later.”

The problem was that everyone had access to the information.

But nobody wanted to solve it.

The window closed.

The purchase didn't happen.

And then, yes…

The bomb went off.

The question was inevitable:

How is it possible that something so simple didn't get solved?

So it was time for an uncomfortable conversation with the team.

And a very simple question:

“If we all have access to the information…

what's stopping us from solving the problem?”

Because having clear responsibilities is one thing.

And it's a very different thing to say:

“That's not my job.”

And funnily enough, it reminds me of something from the ranch.

Out there, nobody asked whose responsibility it was.

If something needed doing…

someone took care of it.

“Roles organize the work.

Responsibility moves it forward.”

Marbeel