Original thinking on workforce risk.

Pre-M&A Reality Check – Part 5 of 5 This is the final installment of the Pre-M&A Reality Check series. And it ends where most deals actually fall apart, not in the model, not in the negotiation, but in the execution. The plan existed. It was documented, reviewed, and approved. What didn’t exist was readiness. Payroll errors surfaced in the first pay cycle and trust collapsed immediately. HR wasn’t assigned an integration role until after close — creating a 30-day leadership v

The financial model was sound. The strategic rationale was compelling. The due diligence was thorough. And then the two organizations tried to actually work together. What happened next is something I’ve witnessed across more transactions than I can count: productivity dropped 20 to 40 percent. Decision cycles tripled. Cross-functional alignment broke down within 90 days of close. And two cultures collided and stayed that way. No one modeled that. And no one saw it coming. Wh

ReInvent Summit 2026 - 2027 Something is shifting, not just in markets or technology, but in what leadership itself requires. The executives pulling ahead right now aren’t those who’ve eliminated uncertainty. They’re the ones who sense the shift early, convene the right people around it, and move with both speed and judgment. That’s the exact conversation ReINVENT 26 is built for. What you’ll walk away with Every session is designed to move from insight to impact — with three

Past Performance ≠ Deal Readiness I’ve spent years watching the same assumptions destroy value in transaction after transaction. The leadership team built something impressive. The track record is real. The business grew. And so, the deal closes with a quiet, untested conviction: if they ran it before, they can scale it now. That assumption is almost never stress-tested. And it is one of the most expensive errors in M&A. 67% of acquired CEOs leave within three years of the cl