Thought Leadership

Insights from the Operating Side of Strategy

Perspectives on growth strategy, transaction advisory, board governance, and the operating realities that strategy frameworks usually leave out.

Featured Insight
Methodology Strategy Execution

Why Strategy Decks Survive Better Than Strategy Plans — and How to Fix It

Most companies do not have a strategy problem; they have an execution-discipline problem. The strategy deck makes it through the board meeting; the strategy plan stalls in the operating cadence. The difference is not analytical rigor — it is the working system around the strategy.

In this piece, we walk through the three failure patterns we see most often — vague decision rights, milestones that drift quietly, and a refresh loop that never gets scheduled — and how the GrowthSpaces® methodology is built to prevent each one.

Terry H. O'Neal
Founder & Managing Partner · Forthcoming
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Key Takeaways
  • Strategy fails in execution far more often than in analysis — and the failure is structural, not effort-related
  • Decision rights are the single most under-specified part of most strategic plans
  • Milestone drift is detectable months before it shows up as performance shortfall — if anyone is looking
  • A scheduled strategy refresh is what separates a living plan from an archived one
Recent Insights

Latest Articles

Board Governance · PE

What PE Sponsors Actually Want From an Operating Board Director

Independent directors on PE-backed boards face a different mandate than directors on public-company boards — and most do not adjust their posture accordingly. Drawing on board service across PE-backed and family-office portfolios, we lay out what value creation really looks like from the director seat.

Forthcoming · 7 min read Request →
Transaction Advisory · Integration

The 100-Day Integration Plans That Actually Work — and the Ones That Don't

Ninety percent of integration plans look the same on paper. The ten percent that survive contact with the acquired company share a small set of structural choices most acquirers underweight. We walk through what they are, drawing on direct experience leading two Schneider Electric integrations and several PE-backed platform builds.

Forthcoming · 8 min read Request →
Market Entry · International

European Companies and the US Market: A Realistic Operating Assessment

Many European technology and energy companies see the US as an obvious next growth market — and they are not wrong. But the path from European market leader to US presence is longer, harder, and more capital-intensive than most expect. Here is our honest assessment of what it actually takes.

Forthcoming · 7 min read Request →
Interim Leadership · Transitions

When the Right Move Is an Interim CEO — and How to Pick One

Interim CEO engagements are increasingly common in PE-backed and owner-operated transitions, but they are still poorly understood. We outline the situations where an interim seat is the right call, what to expect from the first 30 days, and how to evaluate candidates against the actual operating need.

Forthcoming · 6 min read Request →
PE Operating Partner

Augmenting the PE Operating Partner Function: A Practical Playbook

Lower middle-market PE firms increasingly want operating-partner depth without the cost of a fully built-out internal team. We outline a model — drawn from real engagements — for augmenting the operating-partner function with sector-specific operators on a portfolio-by-portfolio basis.

Forthcoming · 6 min read Request →
Owner Transitions

Preparing an Owner-Operated Business for a Liquidity Event: Strategy First, Bankers Second

Most founders bring in investment bankers before they bring in strategic counsel — and pay for it in valuation. We outline what a six-to-twelve-month strategic preparation looks like before a sale process begins, and why it tends to materially change the outcome.

Forthcoming · 8 min read Request →
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Coverage Areas

Growth Strategy Transaction Advisory Board Governance Interim Leadership Strategy Execution Market Entry PE Operating Partner Owner Transitions Energy Technology Industrial Automation
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