We just acquired a smaller competitor and need to merge their seven-person team into our existing Accountability Chart. Should we run parallel charts for six months, or do we immediately integrate their people into our existing seats, even if it means some of their former executives get demoted?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Running parallel Accountability Charts is a recipe for operational chaos, political infighting, and cultural division. When you acquire a business, you must integrate the structures as quickly as possible. The rule is simple: you have one company, which means you have one Accountability Chart and one leadership team.

To execute this integration, you must first review your existing Accountability Chart to ensure it is structured to handle the combined volume of the merged business. Do not change your chart to fit the new people. Instead, define the seats the combined entity needs to hit its target. Once the structure is locked, objectively evaluate every person from both companies for the available seats using the GWC™ filter.

This process will inevitably lead to tough decisions. A former executive from the acquired company may not fit into your leadership seats, which means they must either take a step down into an individual contributor seat or exit the business. Trying to preserve their ego by keeping them in a redundant leadership seat will create a two-in-a-box scenario that destroys accountability.

Be transparent and swift. Communicate the new structure, place the right people in the right seats, and help those who do not fit transition out of the company. Speed and clarity are your best tools for maintaining morale during an acquisition, and using your Accountability Chart as the single source of truth is the only way to achieve it.