All Posts

Strong, profitable businesses often struggle to reach the buyer’s table—not because they lack performance, but because they fall below buyer thresholds and face disproportionate diligence friction. This PL3 Virtual Roundtable explores how syndicates enable founders to sell collectively, unlock higher multiples, and accelerate exit readiness without sacrificing independence.

Culture isn’t just a reflection of how people feel—it’s a measurable driver of performance, retention, and valuation. Organizational Behavioral Intelligence (OBI) gives leaders the clarity to see how culture is accelerating—or limiting—business outcomes before those signals show up in financial results.

Small businesses often fail to exit not because of performance, but because they lack scale. This roundtable explores how the syndicate model helps founders pool EBITDA, normalize financials with AI, and unlock higher-value exits while preserving autonomy.

When deals close, spreadsheets stop talking—but people don’t. The October PL3 Virtual Roundtable explored how leadership behavior and cultural alignment determine whether mergers create value or quietly erode it—and how AI-enabled metrics are giving investors a new lens to measure the human side of M&A.

Most deals don’t fail because of bad numbers—they fail because of what the numbers don’t show. This PL3 Virtual Roundtable brings together experts from Exit Systems AI, The Crucible, GF Data, and The Culture Think Tank to reveal how AI-standardized metrics are uncovering hidden risks, improving due diligence, and redefining what it means to be exit-ready.

What happens when an organization trades buzzwords for real principles? In Begin With WE, Kyle McDowell offers 10 actionable commitments that transform culture from the inside out—regardless of size or sector.

After more than 50 episodes of the Leadership Levers Podcast, 10 powerful insights emerged—on trust, clarity, culture, alignment, and how leaders actually lead when pressure is high. These lessons aren’t theories—they’re field-tested by CEOs, founders, and operators across industries.

Earn-outs and rollover equity may look like win-win tools, but they often create mistrust, misalignment, and disputes before the ink is dry. In this month’s PL3 Virtual Roundtable, experts from GF Data, The Crucible, Avantgard Group, and The Culture Think Tank explored how to structure these terms right from the start—and why clarity, trust, and alignment matter more than headline numbers.

Gathering employee feedback isn’t enough. When leaders fail to follow through, trust erodes, engagement drops, and culture suffers.

Organizational resilience is built through feedback that connects leaders with frontline realities. Structured, reciprocal, and frequent feedback loops strengthen trust, accelerate learning, and enable rapid adaptation. William Lindstrom shares a framework for designing feedback systems that align leader actions with workforce insights to help organizations pivot and thrive under pressure.

Why leadership - not numbers - is driving deal performance. A new recap explores how cultural fit and succession alignment are reshaping valuation and exit strategy.

What do investors really want from leaders? In Peak, Chip Conley explores how trust, confidence, and emotional intelligence shape performance and valuation.

In The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson makes a compelling case for why psychological safety isn’t just a cultural ideal - it’s a core performance strategy. This review explores how trust, open communication, and leadership accountability shape engagement, learning, and long-term success.

Employees are speaking up. But when leaders fail to act, the message received is louder than the one sent. This article explores how inaction on workforce needs erodes trust, weakens performance, and drives disengagement.

Explore the key takeaways from PL3’s inaugural Virtual Roundtable on AI-Powered Exit Readiness. Hear how leaders are using AI to surface leadership and cultural risk before diligence begins - and why it’s changing the game for investors and advisors alike.

Small deals are sending big signals. Drawing from GF Data’s latest analysis, Bob Dunn unpacks how sub-$10M transactions are reshaping private equity priorities—from capital structure and pricing to leadership trust and operational fit—and why those insights matter more than ever in today’s evolving deal landscape.

Discover how the Feelings Index helps leaders measure employee connection, uncover cultural risks, and prevent performance breakdowns before they start.

When anxiety goes unchecked in the workplace, performance suffers. This article explores why anxiety is a leading indicator of risk - and how smart leaders surface it early to protect execution, retention, and well-being.

HR Operating Partners play a pivotal role in private equity by optimizing talent, leadership, and organizational strategy to maximize invest

Toyo Tires achieved 50% growth in just two years - while the rest of the industry shrank. The catalyst? Leadership used performance analytics to gain near real-time insights into culture, alignment, and workforce performance - fueling better, faster decisions.