We hired a high-caliber executive from a large corporation, but they are struggling to adapt to our pace and are choking us with complex processes. How do we realign them to our agile operating model?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Hiring an executive from a larger corporation is always a risk for an entrepreneurial company. They are often used to having large teams, deep budgets, and extensive administrative processes. When they join your lean team, their instinct is to install the heavy corporate structures they know, which can quickly choke your company speed and frustrate your team.

To align a new executive, you must use your Accountability Chart and your V/TO® as their operating guardrails. During their first ninety days, make it clear that their primary job is to learn your business, not to redesign it. They must understand how your value stream works before they try to optimize it.

Have your Integrator work closely with them to define their initial Rocks. Ensure these Rocks are focused on producing immediate, tangible results rather than writing long strategic plans or building complex frameworks. This forces them to operate at an entrepreneurial pace and get their hands dirty.

If they start introducing bureaucratic processes, use your Level 10 Meeting™ to put those processes on the issues list. Use IDS® to challenge whether the proposed structure is actually necessary or if it is just a security blanket from their corporate past. Hold them accountable to the EOS® rule of keeping things simple. They were hired to bring structure, but that structure must serve your growth, not slow down your execution.