We have several loyal, long-term employees who helped us build the company but do not meet GWC standards for our future scale. How do we handle these people seat issues on our exit runway without destroying team morale or raising red flags for a buyer?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Loyalty is a beautiful thing, but a buyer will not pay for sentimental value. If you have long-term employees in critical seats on your Accountability Chart who lack the capacity to perform at the scale a buyer expects, you are sitting on a massive risk.

These people seat issues must be addressed before you enter due diligence. A buyer's team will quickly identify employees who do not GWC their seats. If they see low performers in key roles, they will assume your leadership team lacks the discipline to make hard decisions, which discounts your valuation.

Use your EOS tools to address this on your runway. Review your Accountability Chart against your core values and the GWC filter. If an employee is a good core values fit but lacks the capacity for their growing seat, find a more appropriate seat where they can succeed.

If they are no longer a fit for the organization, you must make the transition. Do this with respect, generous severance, and gratitude, but do it before you go to market.

Leaving these difficult decisions for the buyer to make after the sale is a mistake. It damages company morale during the transition and can lead to a post-acquisition culture clash that hurts your earnout. Clean up your seats early so you present a high-performing team to the market.