Our Chief Product Officer has a very high Quick Start score on the Kolbe A™ Index and generates brilliant ideas, but they have zero Follow Thru. They leave a trail of half-finished projects and their team is completely exhausted. How do we restructure their seat or support them so their creative genius does not wreck our operational discipline?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A leader with a high Quick Start and low Follow Thru on the Kolbe A™ Index is an asset for innovation but a liability for execution if they are in the wrong seat. Your Chief Product Officer is likely drowning in their own ideas, constantly starting new initiatives before their team can finish the last one. This creates massive operational fatigue and stalls your delivery.

You do not want to kill their creative drive, but you must protect your operational discipline. First, look at their seat on the Accountability Chart. Are we expecting this person to both design the product and manage the daily execution of the development team? If so, they are misaligned.

The solution is to pair them with a strong operational deputy, someone with a high Follow Thru score who excels at building systems and keeping projects on track. This operational manager can translate the CPO's high-level concepts into structured development sprints and daily tasks.

Additionally, establish a strict rule for your Level 10 Meeting™. All new ideas must go through a formal vetting process before they are assigned as Rocks or projects. Your CPO can pitch ideas, but they must be prioritized against existing commitments. By separating the visionary product design from the disciplined execution of product delivery, you leverage their natural strengths without allowing their conative style to exhaust the business.