---
id: "claim-raci-misunderstood"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["¶5"]
tags: ["frameworks", "knowledge-gaps"]
related: ["entity-raci", "contrarian-raci-confusion"]
speakers: ["Lindy Greer", "Maxim Sytch", "Jennifer Jordan"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-106-decision-frameworks-fail"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/gg-why-decision-making-frameworks-fail"
sourceTitle: "Why Decision-Making Frameworks Fail"
---
# Experienced Professionals Disagree on RACI Definitions

**Claim (confidence: high, testable).** Even in organizations that have used decision-making frameworks for years, there is **fundamental disagreement on what the roles mean**.

The authors cite a poll of **30 partners at a global consultancy** that had used [[entity-raci-d1]] for years: asked which role had the *final say* in a decision, **exactly half said the "Accountable" person** and the **other half said the "Responsible" person**. This is failure mode #3 in [[framework-decision-rights-mistakes]] and the basis for the contrarian note [[contrarian-raci-confusion]].

> **Enrichment note:** The general claim is strongly supported — McKinsey explicitly warns that RACI is misused and recommends clarifying what "responsible" and "accountable" mean (even proposing [[entity-dare-d1]] as an alternative). The *specific* 30-partner poll and exact 50/50 split are plausible but not independently verified by the supplied sources.