// why
Why this exists
DroneBlocks is scaling past the point where everything fits in a few people's heads. This is our operating system — the single place that says who owns what, what “good” looks like, and how we keep moving when someone's out. The aim is the smallest amount of process that removes chaos — not bureaucracy. It's the shift from soccer, where everyone chases the ball, to baseball, where everyone owns a position.
- Accountability Chart → our DRI map
- Scorecard → a metric on every principle
- Level-10 weekly meeting → our weekly rhythm
- Quarterly Rocks → our priorities
// ownership
DRI map
One accountable owner per pillar.
| Pillar | DRI | Contributors | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product & Technology | Dennis | Aziz, Ben, Ryan | operator |
| Operations | Eric | Aziz (build) | operator |
| Sales | Lindsey | Eric, Ryan | operator |
| Biz Dev / Partnerships | Lars (proposed) | Dennis (enterprise) | contractor |
| Marketing | Dennis (interim) | Clinton (social) | operator |
| Customer Success | Ryan | AI support agent, Dennis, Eric | operator |
| Hardware build / CAD | Aziz | — | operator · contractor |
| Finance / Corporate | TAG Texas | Eric (oversight) | outsourced |
| Curriculum (content) | Dennis (interim) | Marisa (pedagogy), Clinton | operator |
| Process architecture | Karl | Dennis (build) | advisor |
| Accountability / strategy | Henry | — | advisor |
// culture
Cross-cutting principles
Soccer → baseball. Every pillar.
If any one person is out for two weeks, the work still ships. Every role's knowledge is documented and transferable, and at least one other person is trained to step in. Eric out → we still ship. Dennis out → others build DEXI-OS from the repo (it's in GitHub) — they just need training.
- No work is real unless it has one owner and lives in the one system.
- Decisions get made in the room, or get a DRI + a date.
- Anything done twice gets documented.
- Every living doc has an owner and a “last reviewed” date.
- We measure what we say we value — every principle earns a metric.
// pillar 01
Operations
DRI: Eric
Anyone can see stock + reorder status without a bin-check or asking a person.
hygieneEvery open order has a visible status + ship-by date readable in <30s.
hygieneWe carry forecast-based inventory with reorder points — not on-demand.
modelWe never promise a ship date we can't see inventory/capacity for.
hygieneEvery fulfilled order is documented enough that any operator could repeat it.
hygiene// pillar 02
Customer Success
DRI: Ryan — from doing support → managing the agent
Tier-1 support is handled by the AI support agent (droneblocks-ai-support). Ryan owns the agent's quality and takes escalations — moving from doing tickets to managing the agent.
leverPaying customers: first response <1 business day; trial/prospect <2.
leverFirst response ≠ resolution. Resolution target 3 business days.
hygieneNo inbound disappears — even non-customers get logged + routed.
hygieneEvery trial gets a human touch before it expires.
lever“Onboarded” is defined + measured (first flight / class within N days).
hygiene// pillar 03
Sales
DRI: Lindsey
Speed-to-lead: any sales inbound gets a response the same business day.
leverEvery deal has one owner + a next action with a date. No orphan deals.
hygieneEvery quote goes out within 1 business day of request.
leverIf it's not in HubSpot, it doesn't exist — one pipeline, one source of truth.
hygieneNo deal closes without capturing how they found us.
hygiene// pillar 04
Product & Technology
DRI: Dennis
Ship small and often; main is always deployable.
hygieneHardware + firmware have one versioned source of truth — no tribal knowledge.
hygieneNo product has a single person who can build, flash, or fly it.
north-starA bug blocking a paying customer is a P0 with a defined response.
lever“Done” includes docs the next person can run.
hygiene// pillar 05
Marketing
DRI: Lindsey
No untracked spend — every campaign has a UTM + one conversion metric.
hygieneEvery lead source's CAC is knowable.
leverEvery lead-capture surface lands on a page with one clear CTA.
hygieneThe sending domain stays deliverable — DMARC/SPF/not blacklisted.
hygieneContent ships on a cadence with an owner.
hygiene// pillar 06
Finance / Corporate
DRI: TAG Texas · Eric oversight
Eric never touches expense labeling — TAG owns categorization end to end.
hygieneBooks close monthly by a fixed date; cash + AR/AP reviewed weekly.
hygieneCommission from one source of truth — the closer, not the QBO estimate creator.
hygieneNo payment from memory — every vendor + PO has a record.
hygieneInvestment funds are used only for growth/inventory, never payroll.
hygiene// pillar 07
Curriculum
DRI: Dennis (interim) — pedagogy: Marisa · authoring: Clinton
Authoring and publishing a lesson never requires a code change — content is data, not code.
modelEvery course has a defined audience tier and a single owner.
hygieneContent is standalone — a lesson makes sense without tribal context.
hygieneCurriculum ships on a release cadence, not when inspiration strikes.
hygieneHardware-dependent curriculum has a sim or unplugged fallback.
leverCommunity-contributed content has a defined intake + rights process.
hygiene// pillar 08
Hardware Build / CAD
DRI: Aziz
Every model has a frozen, versioned BOM + CAD + assembly doc.
hygieneEvery model hits a target BOM that protects margin — we don't ship a config that blows it.
modelSubassemblies pre-built to a stock level, not on demand.
modelCritical components have ≥2 qualified suppliers, sourced to spec not brand.
modelNo counterfeit or unvalidated part enters production — incoming QC.
hygieneAny build is reproducible by a second trained person — not just Aziz.
north-star// reference
Glossary
Shared vocabulary so we all mean the same thing.