Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Permission Frontier
Compare how people place the same three actions under autonomy, consultation, or approval, and clarify where their understanding differs.
- People
- 4–50
- Base procedure time
- 20 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Make a decision; Build working relationships.
English guide
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How this method works
An authority conversation method in which everyone places common actions into three bands: autonomy, consultation, and approval. Use it when decisions stall because one person thinks authority was delegated while another thinks permission is needed. The facilitator gives everyone duplicate cards for the same three selected actions, and each person places them silently in the bands. Only when cards for the same action are split across bands are they returned to the centre, given one piece of missing information, and placed again. This keeps the conversation about authority from expanding into generalities. The result is a map of decision-making boundaries and the conditions that call for consultation. Do not use it to change actions whose approver is fixed by law or job regulations.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Mark three bands0–3 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Mark. Participation: Groups of 4–10.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Write on action cards3–7 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Write. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Place individually7–11 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Groups of 4–10.
Shared record
- Return split cards11–17 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Return. Participation: Groups of 4–10.
Shared record
- Decide the boundaries17–20 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Decide. Participation: Groups of 4–10.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 3 minutes, mark autonomy, consultation, and approval bands on each group's floor, and put the originals for the same three common actions in each group for comparison across all groups.
- For 4 minutes, each person receives one set of duplicate cards for the three common actions and adds their identifying mark to each.
- For 4 minutes, silently place the three cards in the action-specific areas of the bands and arrange them so differences in placement for the same action can be read.
- For 6 minutes, each person retrieves only cards for actions split across multiple bands, adds one piece of information, and places them again.
- For 3 minutes, each group secures agreed cards and the repositioned cards on its boundary map and passes only actions with split placements to the whole group.
If something changes
If
Three minutes into individual placement, 80% or more of the cards are in the approval band.
Then
Mark actions that can be reversed within 1 day even if they fail, and move only those cards to the boundary with the autonomy band.
If
Three minutes after repositioning begins, unsupported job titles alone have been mentioned 2 or more times.
Then
Restate the job title as information needed for the decision and write one item on an information-addition card.
If
At the end, at least half of all cards still have split placements.
Then
Choose only one card with the smallest scope of impact for a 2-week trial and leave the others pending in the consultation band.
Preparation
Materials
- Three duplicate common-action cards per person
- Three band signs per group for autonomy, consultation, and approval, approximately A3
- Six information-addition cards per group, two per common action
- Three original common-action descriptions per group
- One dark-coloured writing implement per person
- One roll of floor tape per group
Room and setup
- One to five groups of 4–10
- One floor area per group at least 3 m wide for placing the three bands of autonomy, consultation, and approval side by side
- Nine areas per group for stacking and comparing duplicate cards by action, three areas per band
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 4 people, place one set of the three common actions from each of two roles. With 4–10, use one group sharing three bands. With 11–50, divide evenly into 2–5 groups of no more than 10, each containing 4–10 people and using 3 band signs, 6 information cards, 1 roll of tape, 1 floor area, 3 original actions, and 9 areas. Fix the agreed cards within each group; pass only actions whose placement is split to the whole-group boundary, then decide trial conditions and a check date.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not use the method to change an action whose approver is fixed by law or job regulations. Compare the same actions rather than broad claims about roles. Keep agreed cards fixed, pass only split actions to the whole group, and state trial conditions and a check date.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The catalogue metadata states a minimum of 4 people, while scaling explicitly describes a version below 4 using two roles. Both are retained without changing the metadata.
- The ending branch refers to at least half of all cards remaining split and selects one card for a trial, while other passages discuss split actions made of multiple duplicate cards. The source does not give a counting or duplicate-selection rule, and none is added.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Taiwa no Fumen editorial team: Permission Frontier
Original description and illustrations
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.