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LATEST FIELD NOTES

  • The Biggest Mistake Founders Make About Selling Their Business

    Most founders think exit readiness begins when they decide to sell, but that is not the case. By the time you decide you're ready, the market has already decided whether
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    The Biggest Mistake Founders Make About Selling Their Business Most founders think exit readiness begins when they decide to sell, but that is not the case. By the time you
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  • Do You Know Your Freedom Score?

    Most founders know their annual revenue.  Many know their EBITDA.  Some even know what they think their company is worth.  But very few know the number that matters most.  Their Freedom Score. 
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  • The Business Conversation You Can’t Have 

    Most business conversations can happen out in the open.  Growth. Hiring. New products. Expansion plans.  But there's one conversation founders often can't have with anyone:  "What if I sold my company?"  The moment that question
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  • Who Has Permission to Tell You You’re Wrong? 

    Most CEOs don't make bad decisions because they lack intelligence.   They make bad decisions because leadership can be isolating.     At first, the signs are subtle.   You stop asking for advice because you
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  • It’s Lonely at the Top

    One of the things nobody tells you about entrepreneurship is that success can be surprisingly lonely.  When you're building a business, you're surrounded by people. Employees, customers, partners, advisors, family. Yet as your company
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  • Most Founders Wait Too Long to Prepare for an Exit

    Over the last two weeks, I’ve been sharing pieces of what I’ve learned about building a company that can actually survive a transaction.  The 8 drivers buyers score you on. 
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  • Where your business still depends on you (and why it matters more than you think)

     Most founders don’t realize how much of the business still runs through them.  Because when you’re in it every day, it’s hard to see clearly.  Things feel like they’re working.  Revenue is growing. The team
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  • Founder Dependency Is a Valuation Risk

    Most founders don’t see it while they’re in it. From the inside, it feels like leadership, staying close to decisions, owning key relationships, stepping in to keep things moving. But
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  • Most outcomes are decided long before a founder ever considers selling.

    Not in the process, but in the years leading up to it. That’s where most of the real work happens. Buyers aren’t evaluating intent.They’re evaluating reality. How the company operates
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  • Growth can create the appearance of strength.

    It rarely puts it under pressure. That happens when conditions shift,when decisions need to move faster,when resources tighten,when key people aren’t available. That’s when structure reveals itself;through behavior. Some companies
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  • Leadership gaps don’t usually show up as failure.

    They show up as drag.  Slower execution.  Repeated conversations.  Decisions that don’t hold.  And the founder stepping in more often than expected.  Over time, that pattern creates dependency.    And dependency is one of the
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  • Most founders focus on making the right decisions.

    Fewer pay attention to how quickly decisions move through the company.   But decision speed isn’t just execution. It’s structural.   It reflects where authority sits. How clear ownership is.
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  • Sacred Cows Quietly Kill Enterprise Value

    Most founders know where their business is fragile. They just don’t always act on it. Not because they lack intelligence. But because objectivity is hard when you built the company.
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  • Exit Windows Close Quietly

    Most founders believe they will “know” when it’s time. They assume the market will signal it. That buyers will appear. That conditions will be obvious. In reality, exit windows rarely
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  • Your Net Worth Is More Fragile Than You Think

    Most founder-CEOs don’t think of themselves as “concentrated risk.” They think of themselves as operators. Builders. Strategic decision-makers. And they are. But if 70–90% of your net worth sits inside
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  • Mt. Everest

    I am very behind on publishing a blog post on last year's Mt. Everest summit expedition.  It's coming soon! In the meantime you can watch a complete documentary filmed by
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  • Founder Dependency Is a Valuation Killer

    Most founders don’t believe they have a dependency problem. Revenue is steady. The team is loyal. Customers are happy. From the inside, the business feels stable. But the real question
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  • Want to join me on my next adventure?

    Spoiler alert ... my dad bod in a tight fitting bike kit will be coming to a big screen near you!! But before I dive into that, I want to
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  • Ultraman Florida 2024 Race Report

    I've got this thing about unfinished business. In this case unfinished races. In 2020 while trying to maintain my qualification to compete in the IRONMAN World Championship I participated in
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  • IRONMAN Cozumel 2023 Race Report

    This Iron stuff sure doesn’t get any easier!  This one had a special meaning to me because it was an attempt at redemption for the only IRONMAN I dropped out
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  • 6 Incredible days in Cambodia

    It all started with my younger daughter letting us know she wanted to go on a South East Asia trip in the fall.  My knee jerk reaction was “There is
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  • Ironman 70.3 New York at Jones Beach Race Report

    It’s been a few months since my last post and/or book update.  Good news on both fronts. Had a crazy race adventure worth writing up so here goes. Oh, the
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  • My BIG mental adventure

    I normally blog about physical adventures like mountaineering and triathlons.  Last weekend I had an incredible mental adventure that I wanted to share.  It all started when I started reading
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  • Ultraman Florida 2023 Race Report

    It's been a while since my last post. I've been pretty busy with my advisory business as well as my book project.  Speaking of which, I'll provide a quick update
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  • The writing is complete. Thanks to helicopter delays!

    The writing for my upcoming book is FINALLY done!! The manuscript writing that is :-) What's a manuscript?  I didn't know either. It's basically the raw version of ~50,000 words
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  • Ironman World Championship Kona Race Report

    Everything about the IM World Championship was world class. I’ve raced at over a dozen Ironman venues, all are great, some are excellent, but this one tops them all. If
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  • Road to Kona Training : Week of Sep 26 and Oct 3 (PIVKON -0)

    Aloha from Kailua-Kona Hawaii!!  Hard to believe but PIVKON is finally here. 10 hours until the cannon goes off and 11 hours before I hit the water for a little
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  • Road to Kona Training : Week of Sep 19 (PIVKON -1)

    Getting closer...Pivnik’s Kona dream (PIVKON) is next week!  Flights, hotels, connecting flights, Airbnb, cars all booked, rebooked, double and triple checked. We finally go wheels up on Wednesday which will
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  • Road to Kona Training : Week of Sep 5 and 12 (PIVKON -2)

    PIVKON-2 for any new readers is short for Pivnik's (me) Kona Dream - 2 weeks out :-) This post will cover two weeks because some Sunday travel got in the
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