Our VP of Technology has started his own side consulting business, and his attention is clearly divided. He is missing Level 10 Meetings and failing to hit his Rocks, but he is the only one who knows our proprietary codebase. How do we address this without risking a system collapse?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You are currently being held hostage by a single point of failure, and your VP of Technology knows it. This is a highly dangerous position. By allowing him to miss Level 10 Meetings and fail on his Rocks because of his side business, you are telling the rest of your leadership team that accountability is optional if you are deemed indispensable.

In EOS, we look at this through the lens of GWC and core values. Your VP of Technology is failing on Want It and Capacity, and his actions demonstrate a lack of commitment to your company's core values. He is no longer the right person in the right seat.

To address this without triggering a system collapse, you must immediately build a mitigation plan. Do not fire him today. Instead, make your first priority the documentation and sharing of your proprietary codebase. Set a critical Rock for this quarter focused on code documentation, cross-training, or hiring an external technical resource to audit your systems.

Simultaneously, have a direct conversation with your VP of Technology. Tell him that his divided attention is unacceptable and that sitting on the leadership team requires one hundred percent commitment. Show him using the People Analyzer where he is failing.

Give him a strict thirty-day window to either wind down his consulting business or transition out of his seat. During this time, accelerate your code transition plan. If he chooses his side business, or if his performance does not immediately recover, transition him out of the company. A business cannot scale if its core technology is held hostage by a checked-out leader.