Free one-page map
The Founder-to-Chair Seat Map.
The biggest fear under every handover is “so what am I, then, nothing?” This map answers it. Stepping up isn’t one person losing and one person winning. It’s two clear seats, side by side.
Stays with the founder
The Chair
- Vision and values, the “why” and the standard
- The key relationships built over decades
- Guardian of the family name and reputation
- Major capital and big-bet sign-off
- Mentor to the next gen, on call, not in the chair
- The final word on who joins the family ownership
Decided together
The Overlap
- Big strategic direction (1-3 year plan)
- Major customer wins and losses
- Senior hires and the org structure
- Anything that risks the family name
- How profit gets reinvested vs. drawn
- When and how the next handover step happens
Moves to the next gen
The Operator
- The day-to-day, how the work actually runs
- Hiring, rostering and the team
- Standard pricing and quoting
- Systems, tools and how jobs get done
- Solving operational problems at the root
- Owning the numbers that run the week
How the two seats stay aligned
Weekly
A 30-minute operator review: money, work, team, issues, growth. The founder doesn’t need to be in it.
Monthly
The two seats meet on the overlap list, strategy, big calls, anything loaded. Decide once, write it down.
Quarterly
Step back together: is the map still right? What’s the next thing to move from “together” to “operator”?
How to use it: print two copies. Fill it in separately, founder and operator, then compare. The gaps between your two versions are the conversation. That’s where the real work starts.
Want help filling it in?
The map is simple. The conversation isn’t.
Drawing the seats is easy. Getting both people to genuinely back them, without anyone feeling pushed out, is the work. That’s the first three weeks of the pilot.
- Ben.