We have a highly integrated business model where our Head of Sales and our Head of Marketing both insist they must co-own our new Customer Acquisition seat because their departments are completely co-dependent. How do we resolve this without violating the rule of having only one name in a seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Co-ownership of a seat is a recipe for finger-pointing and operational stagnation. When two people are accountable for the same outcome, nobody is. You must adhere to the EOS® rule: only one name can occupy a seat on the Accountability Chart.

To resolve this, you must look at the actual deliverables and break down the Customer Acquisition seat into its core components. While sales and marketing are highly collaborative, they have distinct accountabilities. Marketing is typically accountable for generating qualified leads, while Sales is accountable for converting those leads into paying customers.

Create two distinct seats on your Accountability Chart: one for Head of Marketing and one for Head of Sales, both reporting directly to the Integrator. Under the Head of Marketing seat, list roles such as lead generation, brand messaging, and digital acquisition channels. Under the Head of Sales seat, list roles such as sales pipeline conversion, closing deals, and sales team management.

If they must collaborate on automated acquisition systems, make that collaboration a shared expectation, but keep the ultimate accountabilities separate. If you truly need a single seat that oversees both functions to streamline operations before an exit, that seat is either the Integrator or a newly created Revenue Director seat. In that case, you must hire or promote one person to sit in that Revenue Director seat, and the other functions will report to them. Never compromise on the single-name rule.