Our technical co-founder sits in the Product Development seat, and while they are a genius, their Kolbe score shows a very low Follow Thru, and they consistently bypass our operational systems and document nothing. This is a massive risk for our exit. How do we restructure this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your technical co-founder's low Follow Thru score indicates a natural resistance to order, structure, and systematic documentation. Attempting to force them to write detailed operational manuals will lead to frustration and failure. However, a business that relies on a single genius who documents nothing is inherently unsellable, posing a massive risk to your [exit planning](/qa/how-do-i-know-if-my-business-is-actually-ready-for-a-clean-exit-or-if-i-am-just-burning-out-and-need-to-fix-my-internal-operations-first).

Restructuring the Seat

The solution lies in restructuring the Accountability Chart to accommodate this conative wiring, rather than trying to change it.

1. Remove Documentation Tasks: Take the documentation and systems maintenance responsibilities out of your technical co-founder's seat.
2. Create a New Seat: Establish a new role specifically for these tasks. This could be a Product Operations or Technical Writer seat.
3. Placement on the Chart: Position this new seat either directly adjacent to or underneath your technical co-founder's role on the [Accountability Chart](/qa/how-should-an-owner-use-thinking-time-to-design-the-next-iteration-of-the-accountability-chart-for-an-exit).
4. Find the Right Fit: Fill this new seat with someone who possesses a high Follow Thru score on the Kolbe Index. This individual's natural inclination towards structure and completion will complement your co-founder's strengths. (For more on leveraging conative profiles, see [How do we use the Kolbe A Index to diagnose why our Sales and Operations heads are constantly in conflict over project handoffs?](/qa/kolbe-sales-operations-conflict-handoffs)).

Leveraging Strengths for Exit Readiness

This strategic restructuring achieves several key objectives:

• Optimized Focus: Your technical co-founder can remain in their unique ability zone of creation and innovation, where their genius truly shines.
• IP Capture: The new hire will proactively extract intellectual property from your co-founder's brain and document processes into repeatable systems. This transforms tacit knowledge into tangible, institutional assets.
• Enhanced Sellability: Documented processes and systems are crucial for making your business more attractive and valuable to potential buyers, ensuring a clean and successful exit. Buyers pay a premium for businesses that are not reliant on any single individual, especially for [why buyers pay more for EOS-run businesses](/qa/why-buyers-pay-more-for-eos-run-businesses). This mitigates operational risks and increases your company's overall [valuation](/qa/what-moves-business-valuation-multiples).

By structuring your Accountability Chart to align with human nature, rather than fighting it, you build a more robust, scalable, and ultimately, sellable business.

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