Our long-tenured VP of Marketing gets and wants her seat, but with our shift to AI-driven predictive analytics and programmatic ad buying, she completely lacks the data literacy to manage these workflows. Does she fail the Capacity portion of GWC, or are we obligated to give her time to learn these new technical skills?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a difficult but necessary right-seat call. In the EOS system, GWC stands for Get It, Want It, and have the Capacity to do it. While your VP of Marketing gets the big picture and genuinely wants the seat, the sudden introduction of AI-driven tools has fundamentally changed the skill set required for the role. Capacity encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and technical capability.

You cannot compromise on the Capacity requirement just because of long tenure. If she does not have the technical data literacy to manage the updated seat, she is in the wrong seat. To handle this objectively, follow this process:
- Define the technical measurables and modern competencies required for the seat on the Accountability Chart.
- Assess her current capabilities honestly against these new standards.
- Determine if she has the intellectual capacity and speed to close this skills gap within a defined timeframe, such as thirty to sixty days.
- If she cannot acquire the necessary skills within this period, she does not GWC the seat.

You must then make the hard decision to move her out of this seat. Because she is a culture fit, you can look for another open seat on the chart that aligns with her actual capabilities, but you must not dilute the requirements of the marketing seat.