How Death & Co built a visionary-integrator partnership over 20 years

Executive overview

Most founding partnerships drift into overlap — both people doing everything, neither owning anything. David Kaplan and Alex Day ran Death & Co that way for years before EOS gave them language for what was already true: David is the visionary, Alex the integrator.

Clarity unlocked mutual empowerment. Each stopped trying to be competent everywhere and committed to being excellent where they're wired to lead. EOS also gave the company a foundation that held during COVID — when identity and operating rhythm mattered more than any single tactic.

Trust compounds when two people stop competing to cover the same ground.

Discovering EOS and getting buy-in

• David found EOS through a peer — a casual bar catch-up that turned into a recommendation for Traction and an implementer.
• Alex's first reaction was resistance: too simple, too corporate for a bar brand that prided itself on being rogue.
• A second read shifted his view — simplicity was intentional, designed to create shared language across a large audience.
• They worked with implementer Josh Wolfman for four years; the shift clicked within the first or second session.
• The leadership team went from sceptical to convinced quickly once they experienced it in practice.

Making the visionary-integrator roles their own

• Before EOS, they described themselves as partners who "did everything together" — no formal ownership of distinct domains.
• The V/I framework made the pattern legible: David chases big ideas and long-term vision; Alex runs operations, accountability, and execution.
• Early friction came from the binary nature of the labels — both have creative backgrounds, both contribute to vision.
• Resolution: the roles describe where each person's seat is, not the ceiling of what they can do.
• David carries integrator capability but it isn't his seat; Alex contributes creatively but his seat is integration.
• Having Myers-Briggs and other assessments layered on gave them further language for how their brains differ.
• They've had one or two professional disagreements in 20 years — EOS language helped them understand why rather than personalise it.

Communication and the same-page meeting

• Everything runs remotely: David in Seattle, Alex in Portland, Maine, with locations in New York, Denver, LA, DC, and more.
• Weekly same-page meeting every Monday, 90 minutes, on Zoom — East Coast evening to accommodate both time zones.
• Structure is roughly 70–80% L10 agenda, run looser than a standard level 10; opens with a genuine personal check-in.
• The same-page meeting agenda: deep check-in → IDS on anything they're not aligned on, at risk of misalignment on, or approaching and need to get ahead of.
• In-person time is prioritised on top of the weekly cadence — including non-work time and travel as couples.
• The "dance" metaphor: knowing each other's rhythms is what makes handoffs fluid and trust durable.

Navigating COVID and building resilience

• Within days of shutdown they decided not to wait — let almost all staff go except a core group, then immediately got to work.
• Treated the period as "hospitality grad school": reinventing the business model monthly, sometimes weekly, driven by restrictions and their own values.
• Created a COVID and reopening playbook, made it open source, and shared it freely with the wider industry.
• EOS gave them an anchor: mission, core values, and core target didn't change even when everything operational did.
• Used the downtime to go deep on the numbers — P&Ls, margin, labour economics — and became far more data-driven operators.
• Warning as of mid-2024: consumer perception that things are "back to normal" doesn't match economic reality for hospitality operators.
• The lasting lesson is nimbleness — the ability to adapt fast while staying rooted in who you are.

Advice for visionaries and integrators

• Alex (integrator): IQ does not trump EQ. Cognitive ability alone doesn't build great partnerships or navigate hard moments.
• Framework from coach Mary Pat Knight (Humanized Leader): be factual, direct, neutral, and kind — especially in high-stakes or emotionally charged conversations.
• David (visionary): learn the rules of V/I deeply first, then transcend them. Over-adherence to the textbook definition can box you in.
• Mastery means making the framework dynamic — layering on other inputs (books, coaching, experience) to evolve both the role and the relationship.
• Reference: Jim Collins' 20-mile march applies not just to company growth but to personal development as a visionary — you're never done.
• Failure is a feature: like wakesurfing, most days you'll slip up somewhere. Reflect, adjust, go again — that's the operating rhythm.