Owner Responsibilities
Purpose: What Dave Kowalski actually owns, what only he can approve, and what he has deliberately handed off. This doc exists because "just ask Dave" was the default answer for too many things. The goal is that Dave touches only what genuinely needs him.
What Dave owns
- Final escalation. Anything the managers cannot resolve lands with Dave. See Escalation Matrix for what reaches him and how fast.
- Money decisions above the line. Discounts over 5% (shared with Tara), refunds over $500 or re-do work over one crew-day (smaller remedies are Pete's per Complaint Escalation SOP), and remodel contract sign-off including change orders.
- Severity 3 complaints. Legal threats, safety incidents, insurance disputes, and anything likely to go public. Dave takes these same day, personally. See Complaint Escalation SOP.
- Publishing approval. Nothing goes public under Summit's name without Dave's sign-off: website changes, case studies, ad copy claims, and responses to negative reviews. Routine positive-review replies and scheduled GBP posts are delegated to Jenna within the rules in Publishing Permissions.
- Hiring, firing, and pay. All of it, for office and field.
- Vendors and subs. New suppliers and new subcontractors need Dave's approval before first use. Ongoing management is Pete's.
- Banking, insurance, and legal. Nobody else signs.
What only Dave can approve
| Decision | Rule |
|---|---|
| Discount over 5% | Dave or Tara, nobody else |
| Customer refunds over $500 (or re-do over one crew-day) | Dave; smaller remedies are Pete's per Complaint Escalation SOP |
| Remodel contract and change orders | Dave signs off before work proceeds |
| Severity 3 complaint response | Dave decides the remedy |
| Public content and negative-review responses | Dave approves before publishing |
| Waiving the $450 emergency dispatch fee | Dave only (the credit toward permanent work is automatic and needs no approval) |
The consolidated list, including thresholds owned by others, is in Approval Rules.
What Dave has delegated (and should stay delegated)
- Crew schedules and dispatch belong to Pete. Dave does not promise production dates to customers, and neither does anyone else without Pete.
- Pipeline and follow-up belong to Marcus. Dave stays out of individual deals unless a discount or complaint pulls him in.
- Estimate scheduling and CRM hygiene belong to Rosa.
- Discounts up to 5% can be applied by sales within the rules in Pricing and Estimating Rules without asking anyone.
If Dave finds himself making one of these calls, the fix is to update the relevant SOP, not to keep making the call.
Known weak spot
Several escalation decisions still rest on Dave's personal judgment rather than a written rule: which complaints deserve a goodwill gesture, when to fire a customer, and how to handle a dispute with an insurance adjuster. This is a documented gap in the Knowledge Gaps Report and a running item in Knowledge Holders. Until those rules are written, the safe default is: bring Dave the facts, do not improvise.
Weekly rhythm
- Monday: pipeline review with Marcus, production review with Pete.
- Wednesday: estimate and pricing review with Tara.
- Friday: numbers review (QuickBooks) with Rosa; marketing check-in with Jenna every other week.
Related
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