💸How to Unlock Growth, Profitability, and Resilience Without a Single Acquisition

In finance, we’re wired to look outward—chasing the next deal, the next merger, the next growth story. But what if the biggest opportunity isn’t “out there”? What if it’s sitting quietly inside your business—or your client’s—waiting to be activated?

In a recent talk with financial services professionals, I challenged that M&A reflex—and offered a smarter, more strategic approach: adopt a private equity (PE) mindset to drive real, sustainable value from within.

This isn’t about financial engineering. This is about operational discipline, strategic clarity, and cultural alignment—the levers top-tier PE firms pull every day to create enterprise value. The best part? You can use these tools without a deal, a board shakeup, or a capital injection.

Let’s dig in.

💡 Why Internal Value Creation Beats M&A (Most of the Time)

70–90% of M&A deals fail to create value. Many destroy it.

So why are we still acting like growth is something you buy?

External growth is expensive, risky, and hard to control. Internal value creation? It’s faster, more capital-efficient, and often overlooked.

Whether you're running a company or advising one, now is the time to recession-proof by optimizing what you already own. The smartest businesses today are shifting from “buy” to “build.”

It’s time to shift focus—from growth at all costs to value on purpose.

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🔍 The Value Creation Playbook: A Strategic Framework in 3 Pillars

Forget the old-school play of slashing costs and piling on debt. This framework is about increasing the intrinsic value of your business—just like top-tier PE firms do with their portfolio companies.

1. Strategic Clarity

The biggest unlock for value is focus.
Know your core. Double down on what works. Exit the distractions.

➡ Identify what truly drives value in your industry—recurring revenue? IP? Customer retention?
➡ Get crystal clear on product profitability, customer segmentation, and complexity costs.
➡ Align your resources accordingly.

✅ Takeaway: Value starts with knowing what truly drives it. Align capital and effort there.

🧠 Pro tip: Strategy is only powerful when it's specific. A clear 80/20 view will do more than any rebrand or new hire.

2. Operational Excellence

This is not about slashing costs. It’s about doing more with what you already have.

➡ Eliminate waste (process bloat, excess inventory, underutilized systems)
➡ Invest in automation, digitization, and lean operations
➡ Leverage AI where it actually matters (not just for PR)

✅ Takeaway: You can’t cut your way to greatness, but you can fund growth by plugging the leaks.

🧠 Pro tip: Value creation doesn’t need to be revolutionary. It needs to be deliberate.

3. Cultural Alignment

Culture is not a “soft” topic. It’s a hard driver of execution.

➡ Are your people clear on priorities?
➡ Are they rewarded for outcomes?
➡ Are they continuously improving?

If the answer is no, no amount of strategy will save you. You don’t just need the right roadmap. You need the right drivers.

✅ Takeaway: Strategy sets the direction. Culture determines whether you get there—or stall out halfway.

🧠 Pro tip: Embed accountability at every level. Align incentives with value creation, not just activity. If no one owns it, it doesn’t get done.

🧰 Think Like PE—Without Selling to PE

Private equity isn’t just about capital. It’s about discipline.

Imagine bringing PE tools—100-day plans, KPI dashboards, pricing strategy—to your business or client portfolio. No deal required. Just the mindset and the method.

You don’t need to sell your company or take an investor to operate like a world-class firm.

This is what top PE firms bring to the table post-deal. But why wait? Use the playbook now—without giving up equity.

📈 In This Market, Internal Value Creation Isn’t a Nice-to-Have. It’s Survival.

With macro headwinds mounting—higher rates, inflation, geopolitical instability—the margin for error is thin. Businesses need to move now to become more resilient, more profitable, and more focused.

So I’ll leave you with one question:

💬 What value are you leaving on the table today?
Because that’s where your next 20% upside lies.

If you’re looking for an advisor, speaker, or board member who can bring a practical value creation lens to your company or clients—let’s talk. You can connect with me directly or reach out through my speaker agent, Shari Storm.

Let’s build value on purpose.

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Peggy Van de Plassche is a seasoned advisor with over 20 years of experience in financial services, healthcare, and technology. She specializes in guiding boards and C-suite executives through transformational change, leveraging technology and capital allocation to drive growth and innovation. A founding board member of Invest in Canada, Peggy also brings unique expertise in navigating complex issues and fostering public-private partnerships—key elements in shaping the Future of Business. Her skill set includes strategic leadership, capital allocation, transaction advisory, technology integration, and governance. Notable clients include BMO, CI Financial, HOOPP, OMERS, GreenShield Canada, Nicola Wealth, and Power Financial. For more information, visit peggyvandeplassche.com.