Method · Decisions

RAPID decision roles: how to run it

Assign five roles for an important decision — who Recommends, who must Agree, who will Perform it, who gives Input, and the one person who Decides — so it gets made and carried out.

50 minutes5 stepsDecisions
Other methods

When it helps

Use it for big decisions in larger organisations where many people have a stake, and past decisions have been slow, reopened or ignored afterwards.

When to use something else

Skip it for small or urgent decisions. It adds steps that only pay off when a decision matters and many people are involved.

How to run it, step by step

  1. Frame the decision5 min
    • What is being decided, and what is out of scope?
  2. Assign the roles10 min
    • Recommend, Agree (only those with a real veto), Perform, Input, Decide — one D.
  3. Recommendation with input20 min
    • The recommender presents, having gathered input; those with input respond.
  4. Agree10 min
    • Those with an Agree role confirm or raise a concern that must be resolved.
  5. Decide and hand over5 min
    • The D decides; the Perform people confirm what they will do.

What comes out — an example

Made up, to show the shape.

Decision. Close the Leeds office and move staff to hybrid work.

Recommend. COO. Agree. Legal, HR. Input. Office staff survey, finance. Decide. CEO. Perform. Facilities, HR.

Agree step. Legal requires three months’ notice to the landlord — accepted.

Decided. Close on 30 June; HR runs staff sessions in April.

Where it comes from

RAPID is a decision-making tool developed by the consulting firm Bain & Company.

Questions

What does RAPID stand for?

Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input and Decide — the five roles in a decision.

Who developed RAPID?

The consulting firm Bain & Company.

What is the Agree role in RAPID?

People who must formally agree to a recommendation before it goes forward, usually because of legal or regulatory responsibility; it should be used sparingly.

Other methods

Six Thinking HatsThe group looks at one question from six angles in turn — facts, feelings, risks, benefits, new ideas and process — so everyone thinks the same way at the same time instead of arguing.Dot votingEverybody gets a few votes — dots — to put on the options they like best, so a group can see its priorities in minutes instead of debating every item.RACIA grid that says, for each task or decision, who does the work (Responsible), who answers for it (Accountable), who is asked first (Consulted) and who is told after (Informed).DACIA way to make a group decision clear before discussing it: one Driver runs the process, one Approver makes the call, Contributors give input, and the Informed are told the result.Six-page memo meetingInstead of slides, someone writes a narrative memo of up to six pages; the meeting starts with everyone reading it in silence, then discusses it.Consent decision-makingA decision goes ahead unless someone has a reasoned objection — not “is this the best idea?” but “is it good enough for now and safe enough to try?”

Every method →

Try Meetful

Meetings that take their own notes

Free video meetings in the browser: every line of the transcript under the name of who said it, and the summary and action items when you hang up. Nothing to install — guests just open the link.

Try Meetful freeSee what it does