There wasn't much real work I could do on the product in the state that we were in, because we were thinking about completely re-architecting it when he came on

There wasn't much real work I could do on the product in the state that we were in, because we were thinking about completely re-architecting it when he came on. Also, I agree with what you are alluding to -- if you aren't touching the product, then you probably aren't that much value-add. Personally, though I've demonstrated the ability to be value-add and was working on some key deals...we just never had the product to close them.