A Market That Looks Unified, But Isn’t On the surface, the S&P 500 has been a remarkable engine of wealth creation. Over the past five years, the index nearly doubled shareholder value, with TSRs of +14% over one year, +79% over three years, and +99% over five years. But averages conceal reality. Beneath the headline […]
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Private equity (PE) firms are often portrayed as financial engineers, focused on buying companies, cutting costs, and selling them for profit. In reality, the most successful PE firms follow a disciplined playbook of value creation that goes far beyond financial structuring. For founders and operators, understanding this playbook is essential to anticipating what PE ownership […]
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For many founders, selling a business is the culmination of years of vision, sacrifice, and relentless effort. It is both a financial transaction and a deeply personal milestone. Increasingly, private equity (PE) firms are the buyers of choice for founder-led companies, offering liquidity, growth capital, and professionalization. But selling to PE is not simply about […]
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Founder-led businesses are often born from vision, grit, and personal sacrifice. These companies reflect the personality and drive of their creators, who have poured years — sometimes decades — into building something meaningful. Yet when these businesses reach an inflection point, whether due to succession planning, capital needs, or competitive pressures, private equity (PE) firms […]
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The Department of Education’s recent proposal to narrow the definition of “professional degrees” has sparked heated debate. Under the draft rule, only medicine, law, dentistry, and pharmacy would retain professional status for federal student loan purposes. Programs such as nursing, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and public health would be reclassified as graduate degrees. This change […]
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Strategic clarity isn’t just about having a plan—it’s about ensuring every layer of your business speaks the same language. As organizations grow, they often develop strong visions, compelling brands, and detailed execution plans. But if those layers aren’t aligned, even the best strategies fall flat. That’s where the strategy stack comes in. It’s a framework […]
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It’s a compelling idea: that the Chinese word for “crisis” is composed of two ideographs—one for danger (危) and one for opportunity (机). Popularized in Western business and political rhetoric, this interpretation has been used to inspire resilience, innovation, and optimism in the face of adversity. But linguistically, it’s a myth. The Myth and the […]
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Growth is exhilarating. New clients, new hires, new opportunities. But with growth comes complexity—and with complexity comes drift. Strategic drift isn’t loud. It doesn’t announce itself. It creeps in quietly, disguised as progress. And if left unchecked, it can erode clarity, dilute purpose, and stall momentum. In my work with founders, executives, and mission-driven teams, […]
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Metrics are everywhere. Dashboards, reports, KPIs—they flood our inboxes and meetings. But data alone doesn’t drive growth. Meaning does. And meaning requires strategic literacy: the ability to interpret, challenge, and act on metrics in context. In my work with founders, executives, and mission-driven teams, I’ve seen how organizations struggle not with data access, but with […]
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Strategic clarity isn’t just about what you know—it’s about how you think. In high-stakes environments, leaders are constantly asked to make decisions with incomplete information, competing priorities, and shifting constraints. What separates the great from the good isn’t just experience. It’s the mental models they use to navigate complexity. Mental models are frameworks for understanding […]
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