What Every Business Can Learn From Private Equity Strategies
By Daniel Campos, Co-Founder and CEO
Harvard Business Review recently published an excellent piece on how private equity firms create value inside the companies they acquire. While these practices are often associated with PE backed environments, the reality is that every business leader can apply the same principles to strengthen performance and accelerate growth.
After listening to the discussion and reviewing the insights, several themes stood out to me. They reflect exactly what we see in our work with clients across manufacturing, food and beverage, distribution, and consumer goods.
Why This Matters
Running a business today is challenging. Markets shift quickly, talent is hard to acquire and retain, and leaders are constantly asked to deliver more with less. The most successful companies do not win by adding more work. They win by focusing on what matters most with clarity and discipline.
Private equity firms excel at this. They are ruthless about priorities, honest about performance, and protective of their time and talent. These habits are not exclusive to PE. They are available to every business owner who wants a more predictable and scalable operation.
Lessons Every Business Can Apply
Challenge your team during assessments
Performance reviews often become routine. Real progress happens when leaders push past comfort zones and ask the difficult questions. Are we aligned with our strategy. Do we have the right people in the right roles. Are we holding ourselves to the standards required to win.
Ask if you would invest again
One of the most powerful ideas raised is simple. If you were an investor today, would you put capital into your own business. This question forces honesty and removes excuses. It is a snapshot of whether your decisions and actions are creating real value.
Treat time and talent as capital
High performing companies guard their resources carefully. Every hour and every role must move the business forward. Leaders who protect their calendars, eliminate low value meetings, and make tough talent decisions build stronger and more resilient organizations.
Six Practices That Stand Out
Think like an investor. Reassess your business regularly and set bold, time bound goals.
Align talent to strategy. Build teams that support your vision and reward outcomes that matter.
Optimize labor. Remove low value work and design for productive, efficient operations.
Focus on quality revenue. Not all revenue is equal. Prioritize what drives long term value.
Execute relentlessly. Break goals into clear steps and track progress with transparency.
Treat time as capital. Spend time where it truly moves the needle.
Where Business Owners Should Begin
Start with a clear vision
Define what full potential looks like for your business.
Audit your priorities
Identify where time, money, or attention is being spent without creating value.
Take action
Choose one area such as talent, revenue, or execution and make a decisive move.
How This Connects to Our Work at LCG
These ideas perfectly align with the methodology we bring to every client engagement.
We help leaders define full potential.
We align teams, incentives, and routines to strategy.
We bring structure, discipline, and visibility to execution.
The HBR article reinforces what we believe. Sustainable transformation is not achieved through complexity. It is achieved through clarity, accountability, and focused follow through. That is how we help our clients unlock value and build healthier, stronger, and better performing businesses.