We have a loyal operations manager who is a perfect core values fit but fails to GWC our scaled-up operations seat. I want to create a new customer relations seat just to keep her in the company. Is creating a seat for a specific person a viable EOS strategy or am I making a mistake?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Creating a seat on your Accountability Chart specifically to save a loyal employee is a classic mistake. This is a clear violation of the structure before people rule, and it almost always backfires on the business.

When you design a custom seat around an individual, you create an artificial role that the business does not actually need to scale. This adds unnecessary overhead, complicates communication lines, and confuses the rest of the team about who is truly accountable for what.

Instead, you must look at your existing, ideal Accountability Chart and see if there is an actual, pre-existing vacant seat that she truly GWC™s. If your business genuinely needs a customer relations seat to support your scaling plan, and that seat was already planned, then she may be a great fit. But if you are inventing the seat purely as a safety net, you are making an emotional decision rather than a strategic business decision.

If there is no real, necessary seat on the chart that fits her, you have a right-person, wrong-seat situation. You must have a hard, honest conversation.

Keeping her in an artificial seat only delays the inevitable and lowers your overall operational efficiency. To build an exit-ready company, every single seat on your chart must serve a clear, strategic purpose. If you cannot place her in a real seat, you must assist her in finding a new opportunity outside your company with grace and respect.