Patterns / 3. Working Within the System
Pattern 3.7
Fit Under the Threshold
Size the first stage of your change to fit inside someone’s delegated spending authority, so that it needs no business case and no committee.
In This Context
Most organizations let managers spend up to a set limit without further approval. Above that limit, a proposal needs a business case, a committee, and usually a place in the budget round. A change pitched as one large investment goes straight into that process, with all the delay that comes with it, even when its first useful step would have cost much less.
You can see the opportunity for this pattern when a proposal is stuck waiting for approval, but its first stage on its own would cost less than a manager you know is allowed to spend.
- Delegated authority limits exist in most organizations, but are rarely written on the org chart.
- Approvals above the limit are slow and tied to the budget calendar.
Therefore
Find the thresholds, and design the first stage to fit under one of them.
- Record spending thresholds on your decision rights map.
- Split the work so that the first stage is useful on its own and fits within a limit.
- Use the result to make the case for the next stage.
Consequently
- The first stage starts without waiting for a committee or the next budget round.
- It produces evidence for the larger case.
Seen In
Chapter 15, “Other Ways to Find Room” (“Spending thresholds and delegated authority”).