Guides · Operating Strength
Stronger, faster, smarter, every month.
Stronger is what holds up under pressure: cash, margin and commitments. Faster is how soon you know. Smarter is what the business learns and keeps. These guides cover the plan, the cadence and the proof, from the value creation plan to the operating review.
27 guides · 4 free calculators · 4 templates
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EBITDA Improvement Calculator
Price, procurement, SG&A and volume levers in an EBITDA bridge, with run-rate vs in-year EBITDA and payback on one-time costs.
PE Value Creation Calculator
Split equity value creation into EBITDA growth, multiple change and debt paydown, with MOIC and IRR.
Acquisition Synergy Calculator
Cost synergies by category with quarterly phasing, one-time costs, run-rate, in-year, cumulative, NPV and payback.
Margin Improvement Estimator
Price, mix and cost effects on margin and EBITDA with low, base and high volume-loss cases and breakeven volume loss.
Value Creation
Plans, margin levers, governance, and exit preparation for operating partners and CEOs. Every worked example is labelled illustrative, and every formula is shown so you can run it on your own numbers.
Plan and Govern
Derive the plan from the exit number, then run it with decision rights, stage-gates, and benefit tracking.
100-Day Plan Template for Private Equity: Beyond It
Every 100-day plan template looks the same. The real predictor of exit multiple isn't which template you use -- it's whether you finish what you started.
Value Creation Plan Governance Charter Template
Value creation plan governance made concrete: decision rights, stage-gates, cadence, benefit tracking, escalation and a copyable charter template.
Your EBITDA Bridge Was Right at Entry. Now It's Wrong.
An AI tool can auto-generate an EBITDA bridge template in seconds. The template was never the hard part -- knowing which bar moved is.
Margin Expansion
Size the six sources of margin and sequence them by realizable run-rate, not by ease of modeling.
Margin Expansion Playbook: The Six Sources of EBITDA Margin
A margin expansion playbook: size price, mix, volume, procurement, yield and SG&A with formulas, sequence levers, and bridge run-rate to in-year EBITDA.
Price Waterfall Analysis: Right on Revenue, Blind on Cost
A price waterfall analysis shows exactly where revenue leaked, list price to pocket margin. It won't tell you if what's left is still profitable to make.
Why Price Realization Keeps Drifting After Discount Fixes
Discount governance made price realization look fixed -- then it drifted back. Here's why the leak relocates instead of closing, and what actually holds.
Your Span of Control Looks Fine. Here's the Real Cost.
A benchmark-average span of control can hide thin-span managers burning payroll. Here's how to read the distribution instead of the mean.
People and Exit
Assess the team on evidence, and build an exit story from numbers a buyer can verify.
Management Team Assessment in the First 90 Days
Management team assessment for new PE owners and CEOs: role scorecards, outcome evidence, decision rights, and a retain, develop, or replace call.
Exit Readiness: A 24-Month Plan
Exit readiness plan for PE-backed companies: build the equity story from provable numbers, QoE readiness, add-backs, and the data room by quarter.
What a Quality-of-Earnings Report Catches Before You Close
Before paying $20K-$30K for a quality-of-earnings report, run this self-check on the seller's numbers -- the exact red flag a QoE review looks for.
Portfolio Operations
Operating reviews, decision records, benchmarking, shared services, and investor reporting for operating partners. Every worked example is labelled illustrative.
Start Here
The flagship playbook for this topic.
Guides and Templates
Method, formulas, and templates, each focused on one decision.
Operational Decision Systems: Recording Decisions and Outcomes
Operational decision systems: how to log decisions, expected outcomes and owners, then compare results later. Decision log template and a worked example.
Portfolio Company Benchmarking Without Bad Data
Portfolio company benchmarking only works on comparable data. Standardize definitions, normalize metrics, pick peers and read gaps, with a worked example.
Shared Services for PE Portfolios
Shared services for PE portfolios: what to centralize, the business case math, a phased rollout, and how to avoid the hidden costs of consolidation.
LP and Investor Portfolio Reporting
LP portfolio reporting that holds up: what to collect from portfolio companies, valuation bridges, a quarterly calendar, and a worked fund-level example.
More Operating Strength guides
Add-On Acquisition Screening Scorecard
Add-on acquisition screening scorecard: weighted criteria, knockout gates, and a worked three-target example so a platform picks add-ons it can integrate.
Buy-and-Build Platform Integration Model
Buy-and-build platform integration model: what to centralize, what to leave local, how to sequence add-ons, and check the math in a worked example.
CEO 100-Day Communication Plan
Build a CEO 100-day communication plan: stakeholder map, message sequence, cadence, and templates for employees, customers, lenders, and the board.
Culture and Retention in Post-Merger Integration
Post-merger retention and culture: how to identify key people, design retention awards, set communications and measure culture risk, with a worked example.
Day 1 Readiness Checklist
A Day 1 readiness checklist for acquisitions and mergers: payroll, cash, payments, authority, and communications, with owners and a go or no-go gate.
ERP Selection for PE Portfolio Companies
ERP selection for PE portfolio companies: when to replace, how to score options, how to compare five-year cost, and how to control migration risk.
Integration Management Office (IMO) Setup
IMO setup for post-merger integration: team, charter, cadence, stage gates and a synergy pipeline, with a worked cost-versus-target example.
IT Integration in Post-Merger Integration
IT integration post-merger: how to inventory systems, choose absorb, coexist or replace, sequence cutovers and size the payback, with a worked example.
PMI Playbook: Day 1 to Day 365
A post-merger integration playbook from Day 1 to Day 365: workstreams, a 100/365-day plan, synergy tracking, owners, templates and a worked example.
Synergy Tracking: From Model to Realized EBITDA
Synergy tracking turns a deal model into realized EBITDA: baselines, five stages, price-volume splits, offsets, a ledger template, and a bridge.
Transition Services Agreement (TSA) Management
TSA management for carve-outs and acquisitions: a service-by-service exit plan, cost tracking, governance cadence and a worked example with owners.
Vendor-Led Diligence vs Sell-Side QoE
Vendor due diligence vs sell-side QoE: what each covers, who relies on it, when to commission one, and how a buyer should read the report, with an example.
Free templates
Working files that go with these guides, with the worked examples already filled in. Enter your name and work email and we send the file personally.
Free template · Excel workbook
EBITDA Bridge and Initiative Tracker
Size margin levers, build the EBITDA bridge, and track initiatives from identified to realized with run-rate vs in-year views.
Free template · Word template
Value Creation Plan Governance Charter
A fill-in charter: decision rights, stage-gates, cadence, escalation triggers and benefit-tracking rules.
Free template · Excel workbook
Exit Readiness 24-Month Workplan
A quarter-by-quarter workplan for equity story, QoE readiness, add-back discipline, reporting cadence and the data room.
Free template · Excel workbook
Operating Review Scorecard and Decision Log
A KPI scorecard and a decision log that records expected vs actual outcomes, so each review learns from the last.
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