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PL3 Virtual Roundtable Recap - Why Leadership Readiness Is the New Exit Readiness

  • Writer: William Gladhart
    William Gladhart
  • Aug 2
  • 3 min read

 

Roundtable Date: July 31, 2025

 

Hosted by: The Performance Leadership Learning Lab (PL3) Team

 

Panelists

Bob Dunn - Managing Director, GF Data / ACG


Deals aren’t just falling apart after close - they’re stalling before they even get there. Whether it's misaligned leadership, unproven succession plans, or cultural mismatch, buyers are walking away or repricing - long before the ink is dry.

 

In our latest PL3 Virtual Roundtable, the panel explored how gaps in leadership and culture are eroding value at every stage of the exit process - and why investors, advisors, and founders are rethinking what it means to be “ready” for sale.

 

Featuring insights from Patrick Morin, Bob Dunn, and William Lindstrom, the conversation offered a practical look at how people data, leadership analytics, and performance signals are now influencing outcomes well before due diligence begins.

 

Highlights Covered:

 

1. Why culture is no longer a soft issue - Patrick Morin shared that more sellers are selecting buyers based on cultural fit - not top dollar.“We’ve had sellers take a lower offer for a better cultural fit. That’s enlightened leadership.”

 

When misalignment is ignored, it can kill earnouts, derail integrations, or trigger executive turnover.

 

2. The rise of leadership due diligence - buyers are digging deeper than ever. From technology platform usage, such as a CRM, to margin by client, the diligence process now includes scrutiny of team dynamics and leadership succession - well beyond the CEO.

 

Bob Dunn noted: “You’re not buying a supply chain or a process - you’re buying the people who built the business, who maintain it, and who will continue to grow it.”

 

3. The hidden cost of founder dependence - William Lindstrom outlined how over-reliance on a founder can suppress valuation. “The most important thing in the lower middle market is proving the founder is no longer ‘the business’.”

 

Demonstrating team strength and focused succession planning can create a valuation lift of up to 18% in several real-world case studies.

 

4. The critical role of sell-side QofE and AI - Bob Dunn shared that companies that conduct a sell-side QofE are seeing a half-turn increase in valuation. AI and performance tools are helping sellers surface - and correct - issues earlier.

 

5. What buyers are looking for in management teams - From coachability to consistency, panelists emphasized that buyers are evaluating the full team’s readiness. One red flag the panelists agreed on  - a founder doing all the talking and commanding all the attention in management transition presentations vs a founder taking a team-focused, multi-voice approach.

 

Whether you're advising a founder, leading diligence, or managing a portfolio company through transition, this session underscores a major shift in deal strategy - exit readiness starts with leadership readiness.

 

 

If you missed any of our Virtual Roundtable sessions or want to revisit the conversation, you can access any of the replays on the PL3 YouTube Channel.

 

Join the PL3 Community to access future sessions, exclusive content, and leadership performance insights - www.plllab.com/community.

 

Will Gladhart is the Chief Marketing Officer at The Culture Think Tank & PL3. His experience includes brand strategy & marketing, content creation, email marketing, and communication outreach.

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