Yisen Gard's current difficulty essentially stems from the fact that he was a parachute leader.
Patrick may have been a bit of a poser as both a villain and a noble, but he managed the many branches of the Platinum Iridium Workshop in the Southern Territory in an orderly manner, at least maintaining stability and incremental progress.
After his death, the disciple of Master Gossay who took over his position was at least highly capable professionally.
As for Yisen Gard, although he could be considered an alchemy genius, he was probably just in the mid-ranks of the elite within the hierarchy of alchemy.
Apprentice, Formal, Elite, Master, Grandmaster… basically, professions are divided like this. Although the titles aren't always used so rigidly, this is how they categorize potions specifically.
