If you're a PE investor or executive, you know the job: to make the investment thesis happen. Sounds straightforward. But it’s hard (especially nowadays). 

And usually, it's not the deal structure or market forces that get you. It's the people stuff:

• Leaders who aren’t moving at the pace of PE
• Talent gaps you acted on 18 months too late
• Strategy decks that never translate to execution
• Boards and management firing past each other

If you know, you know. 

I'm Dan. I've spent nearly two decades in PE—as an investor at a top-decile firm, as a portfolio company CEO/operator, and as an advisor to dozens of PE-backed companies. I’ve played across the positions. 

These days, I help PE-backed companies get 3 things right: 

→ Value Creation READINESS – Pre-close org and leadership diligence. Does a target actually have the leadership, talent, and culture to deliver your thesis?

→ Value Creation PLANNING – Getting the board and ELT aligned on the value creation plan, usually within the first 100 days post-acquisition.

→ Value Creation LEADERSHIP – Executive assessment and leadership development to ensure you have leaders who can deliver. 

Beyond advisory work: 

→  Wrote Winning Moves, the bestselling playbook on PE value creation
→  Co-founded Ascend, a leadership accelerator for execs in PE-backed companies
→  Teach a first-of-its-kind course on value creation at Chicago Booth
→  Guest lectured at Kellogg, Haas, MIT, HBS, and GSB
→  Now living that sweet suburban dad life in Cincy after years in SF and Chicago

Want to see how I think about this stuff?

•  Grab a copy of Winning Moves @ Amazon
•  Learn about our PE executive accelerator @ ascendforleaders.com 
•  Follow me for perspectives on value creation, leadership, and pizza

Dan Cremons

Lots of early/mid-career PE investors think they understand how these MM businesses work. I did too. Until I became an operator. 

And my, it was humbling.

Turns out there's a term for this gap between what we THINK we know and what we ACTUALLY know: "the illusion of explanatory depth."

It's all over PE. We've all done this.

→ We talk about "improving GTM." But do we understand how to rebuild a sales process? Redesign territories? Structure comp that actually motivates?

→ We talk about "upleveling talent." But do we understand how to attract great talent? Assess and hire talent? Develop talent? Performance management?

→ We talk about "fixing culture." But could we diagnose the root issues? Understand human and org complexities? Change peoples' hearts/minds?

→ We push for "pricing optimization." But could we build the analysis, test elasticity, roll out changes without torching customer relationships?

→ We advocate for "operational improvements." But could we map workflows, spot bottlenecks, redesign processes ourselves?

To be clear, not saying PE professionals need to have this expertise, nor should they be the ones pushing every button. That's why you hire competent leaders. 

But my operating experience gave me a double dose of humility--and probably would have changed how I engaged when I was on the deal side.

Worth remembering next time we're advising from 30,000 feet:
Knowing something conceptually isn't the same as knowing how to make it happen.

Former PE Investor & CEO // Current PE Advisor // Author // 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘗𝘌-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

If you've only ever sat on one side of the private equity table, you're missing half the story.

Investors can see the big picture in a way operators can't. 

But until you've walked in their shoes, you can't truly understand the realities of operating a business. 

Operators can make execution happen in a way investors can't. 

But until you've walked in their shoes, you may not fully understand capital allocation and value creation. 

Two-cents for early-career PE folks: spend a tour of duty on both sides of the table.

You will: 

→ Become bilingual
→ Develop "double vision"
→ Build an invaluable 360-degree view

Each will make you way better at the other.

Interviewing hundreds of PE CEOs/execs over the last 15 yrs has taught me a lot about effective executive communication. 

The ones who rise to the top speak differently. The most effective communicators I've seen: 
 
→ Use short sentences and small words 
 
→ Adapt the message to fit the audience 
 
→ Lead w/ headline & support w/ details 
 
→ Answer closed-ended Q'swith a Y / N / # 
 
→ Use story strategically but don't overuse 
 
→ Recognize the power of metaphor (but don't overuse) 
 
→ Are comfortable being repetitive to drive home key ideas 
 
→ Check in with the receiver to see if the message is landing 
 
→ Read the room, and know when they're selling past the close 

→ Understand how you say something is as important as what you say. 
 
I'm working on making better use of a few of these learnings right now.

I wince a bit when I hear a PE port-co describe its culture as "a family."

Sure, it sounds nice and feels good.
→ Warmth. 
→ Belonging. 
→ Unconditional support.

But language matters.

Here's what I've noticed across dozens of organizational DD engagements:

Companies with "familial" cultures are more inclined to struggle with three things that matter enormously to investment returns:

🔴 Looking past performance issues
🔴 Keeping underperformers around
🔴 Failing to hold people accountable

The case for outsourcing human capital due diligence in PE deals in 17 words:

Management is more likely to be open and honest with someone who won't be their new boss.

<<End thinly-veiled plug>>

Advice for PEG's going about value creation planning: have a framework.

Use mine. 
Use someone else's. 
Or develop your own.

Whatever. Point is: have one. 

I know, I know. Frameworks can get a bad rap. 
"They're too MBAish." 
(insert joke about 2x2s)

But a clear framework to guide value creation planning:

→ Clarifies thinking
→ Creates shared language
→ Gets you to answers faster

undefined undefined

Ascend

Winning Moves

Ascend - New

Operator's Edge

Grab a copy here → https://www.ascendforleaders.com/the-operators-edge-sign-up

Former PE Investor & CEO  //  Current PE Advisor  //  Author  //  𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘗𝘌-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

Fellow PE professionals and execs: 

Wondering whether a target acquisition has the leadership and talent to make your investment thesis a reality? 

Not sure whether you have the right leaders in critical portfolio company roles?

Tired of losing time and momentum when a recently acquired company gets off to a slow start post-acquisition?

I get it. I’ve been in your shoes as a PE investor and CEO/CXO myself. 13+ amazing years with an innovative & top-performing MM PE firm.

Early on in my PE career, I learned the hard way that neglecting to (1) perform org due diligence, (2) get the right team onto the field quickly post-closing, (3) align on a clear value creation plan had costly consequences.  

🚫 Losing precious time
🚫 Putting growth & value creation at risk
🚫 Leaving returns on the table

But over years of learning from the best and lots of trial-and-error as a PE ops professional & executive, I figured out a thing or two about: 

→ How to size up a target’s leadership & value creation readiness BEFORE investing.
→ How to ensure you have the right leaders in the most critical port-co roles
→ How to get newly-acquired companies off to a strong start in the First 100. 

In 2021, I spun out of an in-house PE role so I could help more PE firms and their portfolio companies 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in 3 specific ways:

• Assessing value creation readiness pre-acquisition → 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙪𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 - https://bit.ly/47HzPol

• Getting the right team onto the field post-acquisition → 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 // 𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 - https://bit.ly/3T9yO3Z

• Getting off to a fast and focused start in the critical First 100 days → 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙁𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 - https://bit.ly/3GtWj02

* * * * * 

Want to learn more about how to do these things, but don’t want to work with me yet? No prob. You can check out: 

→ My bestselling book on PE value creation >>  www.winningmoves.co

→ This free workshop on how to approach organizational due diligence >> https://bit.ly/3rCfWiL

→ This free workshop on leadership assessment >> https://bit.ly/3RJOIRU 

→ This free workshop on how to win the First 100 >> http://bit.ly/3rCjPEy 

→ Learnings, practical advice, and the occasional dog photo I post daily  >>  [hit “Follow”]

The sweetest 2-worders in the private equity language:

• “Add-back”
• “Off-market”
• "Ten bagger" 
• "Success fee"
• “Covenant lite”
• "Wire received"
• "Dividend recap"
• "Strategic buyer"
• "Proprietary deal"
• "Carry distribution"
• "Multiple arbitrage"
• “Proforma EBITDA"
• “Exclusivity granted”

What else?

Good PE leaders make clear tradeoffs between 2 choices.
Great PE leaders know that sometimes, you have to do both.

Reality of being a PE exec is: you have to get good at managing the tension between 2+ seemingly opposing/conflicting ideas: 

→ Strategic AND tactical
→ Focused AND flexible
→ Confident AND humble
→ Growth AND profitability
→ Short term AND long-term
→ Hard-edged AND compassionate

I've admired Marianne Lewis' book on this topic (Go Bearcats!). A recent client situation got me thinking about this topic of both/and thinking from a new vantage point. Wrote a piece on this little-talked-about, but highly important executive skill. 

Check it out. ↓

TL;DR Getting trapped in either/or thinking is a surefire way to limit your team and your results. But when you lead with a both/and mindset, you make

Open article: How Great PE Execs Lead Better By Outsmarting False Choices by Dan Cremons • 6 min read

How Great PE Execs Lead Better By Outsmarting False Choices

The impact port-co culture has on performance can feel too squishy for us left-brain PE folks to wrap our minds around. But here's a common-sensical stab at it:

→ Retaining great employees impacts performance. (nodding)
→ Culture impacts retaining great employees. (still nodding)
→ Ergo, culture impacts performance.

The transitive property.

Free thought: reflections on how to develop a deal sourcing advantage in PE ↓

PAST: Dial more often than others
PRESENT: Get to know business owners far ahead of sale
FUTURE: Add REAL VALUE to those same business owners far ahead of sale.

"Value" could be:

→ Provide advice (and actually listen)
→ Share proprietary content and insights
→ Give them battle tested ideas for growing 
→ Make introductions to customers or partners
→ Offer market perspective they can't get elsewhere
→ Anything that will help them build faster and exit better

The usual question: "How do we win the deal?"
The better question: "How do we help owners win (long before the deal)?"

QQ: Who out there is doing this really well?

Your board member just questioned your judgment in front of everyone. You can feel it:

Temperature rising.
Heart pounding.
Jaw clenched.

One wrong move in the next 30 seconds could cost you months of careful relationship-building.

In the pressure-packed world of PE, you're going to get triggered. A lot. It's part of being human.

But there's a lot at stake. One triggered reaction can undo months of solid leadership.

So how do you go from "Oh S***" to "OK" before you torch everything you've built?

Swipe through for the 5-step process we teach PE execs in Ascend. We help execs drill this process in the program so they can use it when they really need it.

(More on Ascend in the comments below)

"Oh S***" to "OK"

Think investing in leadership development is expensive?
Wait until you see what underdeveloped or ineffective leaders cost.

As a PE exec, your investors didn't hire you to maintain the status quo. They backed you to transform the business... and take it to exciting, bold new places.

In our Ascend program, we refer to this as "wearing the Captain hat." 

When you're wearing it, you're the compass-setter. 
You zoom-out from the daily scramble 
You paint a clear and bold picture of where you're headed.

In PE-backed companies, this isn't optional. 
It's the foundation of everything else a leader does.

Here are the 4 muscles that visionary PE leaders must build ↓↓

How to be a more visionary PE leader

Got a pedicure recently (long story), and the lady introduced me to something fascinating called "cognitive distortions." It's psychology-speak for mental glitches that mess with our heads. 

Essentially, ways your own brain works against you.

So I went down the rabbit hole. Wow - fascinating. 

Turns out psychologists have identified around 15 of these mental glitches that quietly sabotage how we think, decide, and act. As I read through them, two things hit me:

1. These explain so many times I've gotten sideways in my own life and leadership.

2. These explain so much of what I see tripping up PE leaders. Things like: 

→ Blaming
→ Labeling
→ Minimization
→ Mind reading
→ Magnification
→ Fortune telling
→ Personalization
→ Catastrophizing
→ Overgeneralizing
→ Emotional reasoning
→ "Should" statements
→ All-or-nothing thinking
→ Jumping to conclusions
→ Discounting the positive
→ Negative mental filtering

Google them. It's illuminating. And humbling.

There's a powerful thought exercise we've been doing with the execs in our Ascend program. It goes like this:

Close your eyes. 
Imagine your retirement party. 
However near or far it might be.

The room is full. People who worked for you. People who worked alongside you. People whose careers intersected with yours.

One by one, they stand to speak.

→ What do they say about your leadership?
→ What impact did you have on their lives?
→ What will they remember most?

Here's the thing about this exercise:

It's not really about retirement at all.
It's about today.

Psychologists call this "there-backward thinking."
Stephen Covey called it "begin with the end in mind."

Whatever you call it, the principle is the same:

When you get crystal clear on where you want to end up, the path forward as a leader becomes much clearer.

A simple, totally free way to unlock higher performance in a PE port-co: 

Set more challenging goals.

A meta-analysis on goal-setting research published in the Psychological Bulletin explained:

"In 90 percent of the studies, challenging goals led to higher performance than easy goals, "do your best" goals, or no goals."

The takeaway: challenging goals bring out the best in a team. 

The best teams don't need easy wins.
They need a challenge worthy of their ambition.

There's a hidden force limiting your port-co's results that most PE execs never realize...

Your own beliefs.

"I'm too inexperienced to be leading this." 
"Our margins can't improve further." 
"The board will never go for it." 
"The timing isn't right." 
"What if we fail?" 

These narratives run in the background, shaping every decision you make and every risk you don't take.

In our Ascend program, we help leaders understand and overcome these so they don't tank their leadership... and their company's potential. 

Here's a simple process for neutralizing these self-sabotaging limiting beliefs in the moment ↓

(Details on the Ascend PE executive accelerator in the comments below)

Limiting Belief Busting

In physics, there are universal laws that apply everywhere. Gravity works the same in Tokyo and Toronto.

Executive leadership has them too: fundamental truths that hold true no matter your industry, team size, or situation. 

I think of these as the Universal Laws of Leadership. And I came up with 5. 

They aren't sexy. But they're universally applicable... and non-negotiable.

What would you add to the list?

5 Universal Laws of Leadership

If you're a leader who has ever caught yourself saying, “It’s just faster if I do it myself,” this one’s for you.

In the fast-paced world of PE-backed companies, too many leaders default to telling instead of coaching. "It's faster that way." 

Or think they’re "coaching"... when they’re really just directing using nicer words.

Here’s how wearing the Coach Hat will help you unlock the untapped potential of your team ↓

Wearing the Coach Hat

Got a pedicure a few weeks back before a family beach trip. Didn’t expect to walk out with a sharper take on the inner game of leadership… but here we are. (Shoutout Anya!)

This week’s $0.02 is on cognitive distortions — the mental glitches that quietly trip up PE-backed execs every day. They muck up our leadership, and most of us don’t even realize they’re happening.

This one is relevant to 100% of PE execs out there. Check it. ↓

A few weeks ago, as we geared up for a family beach vacation, I found myself in a pedicure chair. My wife finally staged an intervention on my gangly 

How Your Brain is Quietly Sabotaging Your Leadership

Managing Partner, Thinking Dimensions ► LinkedIN Top Voice 2024 ►Bold Growth, M&A, Strategy, Value Creation, Sustainable EBITDA ► NED, Senior Advisor to Boards,C-Level,Family Office,Private Equity ► Techstars Lead Mentor

LinkedIn Top Voice 2024/2025

Harvard Business Review Advisory Council Member, Strategy Tools Best Partner Award 2023  for outstanding work in Corporate Strategy, Transformation, and Growth. Annual Award Winner 2019, 2020 and 2024: Business Consultancy Professional of the Year from Corporate LiveWire. Executive Education Professor of the Year Award for 2021, 2022, and 2023 at CIMBA/University of IOWA, Techstars All-Star Mentor Award for 2024.

I am a Managing Partner at Thinking Dimensions, and an N.E.D.

I work with boards, CEOs, private equity, family office, senior leaders and owners in Fortune 1000 businesses to impact future sustainable growth and profitability.

As managing partner in Thinking Dimensions- an international management consultancy renowned for its problem solving & decision making processes- I am part of a global team delivering EBITDA impacting outcomes to clients through 3 distinct offerings:
 
•	Strategy Definition and Execution
•	Digital Transformation
•	Sustainable Value Creation

Thinking Dimensions has locations and expertise with a network spanning 17 countries of which I have conducted business on 5 continents.

With 30+ years of international experience in advisory activities balanced between both multinational and family controlled enterprises, I've had the unique opportunity to assist over 250 CEO’s and Senior Business Leaders globally.
  
Issues companies are focused around include:

Digital Transformation
Succession Planning
Corporate Venture Capital
AI Governance/Integration 
Internationalization including Early Stage Markets
Value Creation through non-organic growth (M&A, platforms)
Group and corporate reorganization/organization design
Go To Market/Sales 
Business plans/Industrial plans
Develop new business models
Funding of New Market development and commercial opportunities
Executive and board alignment
Platform and Ecosystem Design
Long-Term Sustainability 
Circular Economy and the Business Decisions necessary for the future

The organizations my teams and I work with achieve speed, alignment, and practical results with a future long term view.  

In summary I am working as a trusted advisor assisting leaders with the big decisions necessary for the future. 

I continue to publish at:
 
http://www.thinkingdimensions.com/resources/blog/strategy

As a Non Executive Director, I bring an international perspective focused on new business models, innovative approaches to Strategy, and Diverse capabilities required for sustainability. 

Specialties: Strategy, M&A, PE, VC,Non-Organic Growth, Emerging Markets, Family Office

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