What does dri stand for?
Apple coined the term "directly responsible individual" (DRI) to refer to the one person with whom the buck stopped on any given project. The idea is that every project is assigned a DRI who is ultimately held accountable for the success (or failure) of that project.
They likely won't be the only person working on their assigned project, but it's "up to that person to get it done or find the resources needed."
The DRI might be a manager or team leader, they might even be an executive. Or, they may themselves be individually responsible for fulfilling all the needs of their project. The selection of a DRI and their specific role will vary based on their own skillset and the requirements of their assigned task. What's most important is that they're empowered. We may disagree, commit, and disagree, but we all have to achieve results on every decision while it stands, even when if trying to have it changed.
While the DRI is the individual who is ultimately held accountable for the success or failure of any given project, they are not necessarily the individual that does the tactical project work. The DRI should consult and collaborate with all teams and stakeholders involved to ensure they have all relevant context, to gather input/feedback from others, and to divide action items and tasks amongst those involved.
It is important to understand that DRIs do not owe anyone an explanation for their decisions. If you force a DRI to explain too much, you'll create incentives to ship projects under the radar. The fear of falling into a perpetual loop of explaining can derail a DRI, and cause people to defer rather than working with a bias for action.
We would much rather foster a culture where DRIs are willing to put their ideas in the open. This enables feedback from a broad range of diverse perspectives, which the DRI can take into account and choose how (if at all) it shapes their thinking.
As part of a Harvard Business School case study interview (shown above), GitLab co-founder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij spoke with Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury on various elements of GitLab's all-remote structure, including a question on DRIs.
At the end of the day, it's about results and efficiency. DRIs work conceptually because they leave no room for ambiguity about who has the final say on all questions that arise within a project or team.
Assigning one, ultimately responsible person to a project might seem to impair our ability to collaborate effectively at first glance, but that's misleading. The DRI should be wholly invested in their assignment and welcome collaboration in order to succeed. While they're empowered to make all final decisions, they should know how and when to trust in the experience and judgment of their teams and peers.
Of course, when things do go wrong, it's also the DRI who (usually) takes the fall as was the case when Scott Forestall, then iOS senior vice president, was forced to resign after he "refused to sign the letter apologizing" for Apple's infamously error-laden Maps app redesign in 2011.
DRIs are most often assigned at the task-level. For example, when building a new product feature the Product Manager is the DRI for the prioritization and the Engineering Manager is the DRI for delivery. As managers of one GitLab team members are most often the DRI for the tasks they accomplish.
At times, someone may be a DRI for an entire process or project. Because this comes with additional responsibility, there are some suggested characteristics to keep in mind when assigning the DRI. Mike Brown in his November 2015 article, Project Management – 8 Characteristics of a DRI, lists the following:
The DRI is also part of a team, a team needs to be motivated and aligned on achieving the steps to get to success. The DRI will also be responsible for making sure the team gets there.
A DRI should be able to articulate the objectives, check progress and give and receive feedback. This will ensure the DRI can change direction or plan ahead to avoid any setbacks.
At GitLab we communicate and work asynchronously, you can read more about it on this page.
One thing to consider when a DRI needs to give or receive feedback is that they may not be the actual manager of the other members of the team.
Giving or receiving feedback is tough and we have looked at this in our previous Guidance on Feedback Training. See also GitLab's guide to communicating effectively and responsibly through text.
Different organizations use different methods of assigning responsibility; one of the most popular is the RACI Matrix, which outlines who the Responsible-Accountable-Consulted-Informed people should be on a decision or project.
GitLab's implementation of a DRI for decision-making means that we have evolved the RACI matrix to DCI (DRI, Consulted, Informed).
The Responsible and Accountable person is the DRI, the Consulted people are those whose opinions are sought, typically subject-matter experts; and with whom there is two-way communication. and Informed people are those who are kept up-to-date on progress, often only on completion of the task or deliverable; and with whom there is just one-way communication. Given that Everyone Can Contribute, Informed people also includes Everyone.
The DRI should be sure to Consult with all teams that have actions to take on an initiative to ensure they have all context and that actions are appropriately divided.
There are circumstances where we do approvals for coordination or have a decision maker who is not the DRI. These are extremely rare. It is the responsibility of the DRI to recognize the need for this and to continue to move the project forward. Most of these circumstances will happen in instances in which initiatives:
Examples include:
In these instances, another person may own the final decision, but this doesn't mean that key process steps should be skipped and other key stakeholders shouldn't be involved in ensuring a successful outcome. If a DRI is not considering key stakeholder feedback, executing without adequately planning for success, and saying, "the E-Group approved this," it is worth pausing and considering whether key steps are being missed or additional items should be considered. The DRI is still responsible for successful execution once a decision is made. If the DRI disagrees with a decision, it is this person's responsibility to make a compelling case to the decision maker in order to change the decision marker's mind. If this can't be done within a reasonable period of time, the DRI should disagree and commit.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is an Indian intelligence agency. It is India's apex anti-smuggling intelligence, investigations and operations agency.
The Directorate is run by officers from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) who are posted in its various Zonal Units as well as in Indian embassies abroad as part of the Customs Overseas Intelligence Network. It is headed by a Director General of the rank of Special Secretary to the Government of India. The Agency works to secure India's national and economic security by preventing the outright smuggling of contraband such as firearms, gold, narcotics, Fake Indian Currency notes, antiques, wildlife and environmental products. Moreover, it also works to prevent the proliferation of black money, trade based money laundering and commercial frauds.
The DRI came into existence on the 4th of December 1957. However the genesis of the DRI may be traced to 1953 with the formation of the Central Revenue Intelligence Board(CRIB) in 1953. CRIB was charged with the responsibility of dealing with all matters connected with anti-smuggling and anti-corruption in the Customs and Central Excise organizations all over India was constituted. It was a small unit consisting of an Assistant Collector and two Superintendents within the Directorate of Inspection (Customs and Central Excise), New Delhi but working directly under the Central Board of Revenue.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was thus constituted on 4th December 1957, for dealing exclusively with the work relating to the collection and study of information on smuggling activities and the deployment of all anti-smuggling resources at the all India level, besides arranging training for the intelligence and Investigation officers of the Custom Houses and Central Excise Collectorates deployed on similar work.
So began a glorious chapter in the nation’s fight against economic offences. The DRI was at the forefront of curbing smuggling and evasion of duty. The charter of the DRI encompassed all aspects of work pertaining to customs, central excise and narcotics which required control, direction and investigation from the Centre. Subsequently, specialized agencies to deal with violations of central excise and narcotics were created and the DRI focused on customs offences. It was an organization manned and headed by officers of the Customs Department with officers from other services occasionally coming on deputation. Thus, the DRI has always been and is an organization of the Customs department working under the aegis of the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC )as it was known then, and under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) as it is presently known.
Though its early days were committed to combating the smuggling in of gold, it now addresses a wide and interconnected gamut of narcotics and economic crimes. DRI enforces provisions of the Customs Act in addition to over 50 other statutes including the NDPS Act, Arms Act, WMD Act etc. DRI is also a part of the Cabinet Secretariat's National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, the Special Investigation Team on Black Money, the Task Force on Shell Companies, the Multi Agency Center (MAC) on National Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs/NIA's special wings on Left Wing Extremism Financing, as well as various inter-ministerial committees on Terror Financing, Coastal Security, Fake Indian Currency Notes, etc.
DRI has earned fame for huge seizures from all its mandated responsibilities, specially gold, fake Indian currency notes, smuggled foreign currency and narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. In the last 5 years, the DRI has seized more than 540 kg of heroin and 7,409 kg of ephedrine along with other narcotics and psychotropic substances.
DRI is the major intelligence agency which enforces the prohibition of the smuggling of items including drugs, gold, diamonds, electronics, foreign currency, and counterfeit Indian currency. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence functions under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Government Of India. Headed by Director General (Chief Commissioner Rank) in New Delhi, it is divided into seven zones, each under the charge of an Additional Director General (Commissioner Rank). It is further sub-divided into Regional Units, Sub-Regional Units and Intelligence Cells with a complement of Additional Directors, Joint Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, Senior Intelligence Officers and Intelligence Officers.
As per CBIC guidelines, DRI grants rewards to informers for information leading to seizure or recovery of Government dues as an ex-gratia payment. As per extant policy, informers and Government servants are eligible for rewards up to 20% of the net sale proceeds of the contraband goods seized (except substances seized under NDPS Act and gold for which separate rates have been notified) and/or amount of duty evaded plus amount of fine and penalty levied/imposed and recovered.
Danny Denzongpa plays the Director of Revenue Intelligence Chief in the movie 16 December.
A TV serial on Sony Channel was aired on every Thursday, named Powder, a production of Yashraj Pictures, which was based on DRI.
Apple coined the term "directly responsible individual" (DRI) to refer to the one person with whom the buck stopped on any given project. The idea is that every project is assigned a DRI who is ultimately held accountable for the success (or failure) of that project.
They likely won't be the only person working on their assigned project, but it's "up to that person to get it done or find the resources needed."
The DRI might be a manager or team leader, they might even be an executive. Or, they may themselves be individually responsible for fulfilling all the needs of their project. The selection of a DRI and their specific role will vary based on their own skillset and the requirements of their assigned task. What's most important is that they're empowered. We may disagree, commit, and disagree, but we all have to achieve results on every decision while it stands, even when if trying to have it changed.
While the DRI is the individual who is ultimately held accountable for the success or failure of any given project, they are not necessarily the individual that does the tactical project work. The DRI should consult and collaborate with all teams and stakeholders involved to ensure they have all relevant context, to gather input/feedback from others, and to divide action items and tasks amongst those involved.
It is important to understand that DRIs do not owe anyone an explanation for their decisions. If you force a DRI to explain too much, you'll create incentives to ship projects under the radar. The fear of falling into a perpetual loop of explaining can derail a DRI, and cause people to defer rather than working with a bias for action.
We would much rather foster a culture where DRIs are willing to put their ideas in the open. This enables feedback from a broad range of diverse perspectives, which the DRI can take into account and choose how (if at all) it shapes their thinking.
As part of a Harvard Business School case study interview (shown above), GitLab co-founder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij spoke with Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury on various elements of GitLab's all-remote structure, including a question on DRIs.
At the end of the day, it's about results and efficiency. DRIs work conceptually because they leave no room for ambiguity about who has the final say on all questions that arise within a project or team.
Assigning one, ultimately responsible person to a project might seem to impair our ability to collaborate effectively at first glance, but that's misleading. The DRI should be wholly invested in their assignment and welcome collaboration in order to succeed. While they're empowered to make all final decisions, they should know how and when to trust in the experience and judgment of their teams and peers.
Of course, when things do go wrong, it's also the DRI who (usually) takes the fall as was the case when Scott Forestall, then iOS senior vice president, was forced to resign after he "refused to sign the letter apologizing" for Apple's infamously error-laden Maps app redesign in 2011.
DRIs are most often assigned at the task-level. For example, when building a new product feature the Product Manager is the DRI for the prioritization and the Engineering Manager is the DRI for delivery. As managers of one GitLab team members are most often the DRI for the tasks they accomplish.
At times, someone may be a DRI for an entire process or project. Because this comes with additional responsibility, there are some suggested characteristics to keep in mind when assigning the DRI. Mike Brown in his November 2015 article, Project Management – 8 Characteristics of a DRI, lists the following:
The DRI is also part of a team, a team needs to be motivated and aligned on achieving the steps to get to success. The DRI will also be responsible for making sure the team gets there.
A DRI should be able to articulate the objectives, check progress and give and receive feedback. This will ensure the DRI can change direction or plan ahead to avoid any setbacks.
At GitLab we communicate and work asynchronously, you can read more about it on this page.
One thing to consider when a DRI needs to give or receive feedback is that they may not be the actual manager of the other members of the team.
Giving or receiving feedback is tough and we have looked at this in our previous Guidance on Feedback Training. See also GitLab's guide to communicating effectively and responsibly through text.
Different organizations use different methods of assigning responsibility; one of the most popular is the RACI Matrix, which outlines who the Responsible-Accountable-Consulted-Informed people should be on a decision or project.
GitLab's implementation of a DRI for decision-making means that we have evolved the RACI matrix to DCI (DRI, Consulted, Informed).
The Responsible and Accountable person is the DRI, the Consulted people are those whose opinions are sought, typically subject-matter experts; and with whom there is two-way communication. and Informed people are those who are kept up-to-date on progress, often only on completion of the task or deliverable; and with whom there is just one-way communication. Given that Everyone Can Contribute, Informed people also includes Everyone.
The DRI should be sure to Consult with all teams that have actions to take on an initiative to ensure they have all context and that actions are appropriately divided.
There are circumstances where we do approvals for coordination or have a decision maker who is not the DRI. These are extremely rare. It is the responsibility of the DRI to recognize the need for this and to continue to move the project forward. Most of these circumstances will happen in instances in which initiatives:
Examples include:
DRI. Dietary Reference Intake; a reference value that is a quantitative estimate of a nutrient intake. It is used for planning and assessing diets for healthy people.
