Case study · Kraus Hi-Tech
How Artful Concern helped Kraus Hi-Tech define the right seat for its next stage of growth, manage a leader's retirement, and onboard the right person into the right seat
It's very hard when you're in it. You know you've got a problem, but you're not sure if the people you're trying to have as your problem solvers are part of the problem.
Stephen Kraus, Owner
<6 weeks
Seamless transition for the retiring Director
8 weeks
Occupied the Interim Integrator seat, executing operational improvement Rocks
1–2 months
Onboarding time saved, according to the incoming Director, because of a well-organized 30-day overlap
About
High-end residential AV and smart home integration. New York Metro, the Hamptons and South Florida. Runs on EOS.
The Challenge
Kraus Hi-Tech serves a demanding, high-end residential clientele across the New York metro area, the Hamptons and South Florida. Its Director had built and run the business for more than 18 years.
Over that time, the business came to run through him. Decisions, client relationships, and daily operations all moved through one person.
As the company looked ahead to its next stage of growth, the owner wanted an outsider's perspective on what competencies, processes, and organizational changes would be required to scale. After three costly mishires, the team wanted a fresh perspective on the right seats before moving forward.
The owner engaged Artful Concern to answer a specific question: what would it take to scale Kraus Hi-Tech to double and triple in size?
What we found
The answer to the scaling question was a leadership one. It required a different kind of leader in the Director's seat than the one who had built the company to where it was.
The Director, David, reached the same conclusion. He decided he was not the leader for the next chapter of growth and chose to retire, creating space for the next right leader to step in.
The Director's retirement created a much harder problem. A business that runs through one person does not survive that person leaving. It survives the transfer of what is in his head, and that transfer has to happen while he is still there.
The Solution
We started with stakeholder interviews across every department, which told us what the team on the ground needed from leadership to grow, who was actually doing what, who was hungry to be empowered, and which processes needed to be matured. We delivered a fact-based recommendation of what would need to change for the company to double and triple sales.
You came fresh, without the years of baggage that I and everyone else in my company brought to a discussion. Nothing was shocking. But it was very soothing to analyze the problems objectively, instead of being on the hamster wheel… The approach allowed me the comfort to make bigger changes than I would have been comfortable making without you.
STEPHEN KRAUS
During our engagement, the Director decided to retire and free up the full-time Integrator seat to a new leader. We pivoted to stepping in as interim Integrator and implementing a detailed transition plan:
Delegated responsibilities from the Integrator to the full-time team well before the last day, to validate who could do what in their expanded roles
Developed SOPs, refined job descriptions, and gave managers practical tools and coaching to lead their teams
Put metrics in place so performance in newly owned areas could be measured rather than assumed
Held the team accountable to a set of short-term transition Rocks
Once the transition was complete, we led the team to achieve operational improvement Rocks that were foundational ahead of growth
Right people into the right seats
Scoped the Director role from scratch and ran the search with a retained recruiter
Onboarded the new Director during a 30-day overlap period to seamlessly transition the role
The projects the team had taken on [during the Interim period] were great first steps. They gave me an immediate direction to head in, on work that was already moving in the background and just needed someone to take it over and lead it.
JIM ALGER, INCOMING DIRECTOR
The Timeline
Integrator announces retirement, pivot to transition and interim Integrator
November 2025
Integrator retires, seamless transition to interim Integrator
January 2026
Post transition, operational Rocks
March 2026
New full-time Integrator hired and onboarded
April 2026
May 2026
Engaged
Alicia and I have worked on multiple leadership searches together, as a part of her more global work with business owners during leadership transitions and strategic growth initiatives…. In screening candidates I've put forward Alicia has been collaborative, constructive, and supportive by fully vetting candidates and highlighting their strengths and deficiencies as they may relate to her client's needs.
David Cone-Gorham, NYCM Search
The Results
Continuity
The retiring Director's responsibilities were fully documented and transitioned well before his last day, so we could see and validate how the business would operate without his involvement.
Structure
Every department had defined roles and responsibilities, documented SOPs, and managers with the tools and coaching to run their teams.
Right seat
The Director role was scoped from scratch against what the next stage of growth requires, according to the team and industry best practices.
Handoff
We overlapped with the new Director for one month to fast-track his onboarding and minimize business disruption.
The recruiter understood what they were looking for in a candidate. He grilled me before I ever got to Alicia, so I knew what was coming. By the time I met with her, I already knew what the job was and what Kraus was looking for. I felt prepared, and confident that I was a quality candidate.
JIM ALGER, INCOMING DIRECTOR
Normally you walk into a new place and you're like, okay, what are the issues? I had the issues all laid out in front of me, so I could tackle whatever I wanted right from day one… I was able to be onboarded and hit the ground running rather than having my own exploratory time. I already knew what needed to be tweaked and adjusted right away, and where I could help right away… It cut a month or two off finding my sea legs.
STEPHEN KRAUS, OWNER
Finding Jim and leading that whole process was hugely helpful. Usually I hire my own people. Honestly, Jim probably wouldn't have jumped out as one I would have picked. I would have been stuck in my traditional mindset, looking for someone with Crestron or Control4. That was something I could not have done without you.
STEPHEN KRAUS, OWNER