The first thing pressure changes isn’t performance—it’s behavior. See how decision rights migrate and why buyers recognize these signals before diligence begins.

Every owner I know who has sold a business says something similar once it’s over. They don’t talk about the multiple. They don’t talk about the closing dinner. They say, “Their A-team was playing a different game than mine.” Not smarter people. Not better people. Just a different game. The buyers had been there before. Many times. They knew how the questions would land. They knew where things would tighten. They knew which moments mattered and which ones didn’t. From the outs

Most CEOs don’t have a leadership problem. They have a leverage problem. They’re surrounded by smart, capable people — yet still doing their team’s work. Not because they want to. Because they know how to. People default to solving problems they already know how to solve. For most leaders, that means diving back into the work instead of developing the people. The Familiar Trap It starts innocently. A missed detail. A fumbled client call. A delayed decision. You step in — be

Tough Love in Leadership – Todd White on Why Empathy Without Resilience Fails The Performance Quotient Listen Here Is empathy enough to make you a better leader—or can it sometimes backfire? In this episode of The Performance Quotient, host Will Lindstrom welcomes Todd White , executive coach and founder of ClearPeg , to explore why empathy in leadership often falls short and what it really takes to make it work. Todd introduces “ the empathy equation, ” a framework that ble

The Dirty Secret Behind “People Are Our Greatest Asset” Every CEO says it. Every investor deck repeats it. Every annual report shines it in bold type. “People are our greatest asset.” But inside the boardroom, the conversation sounds different. Behind closed doors, it’s not about purpose or culture — it’s about risk. Who can we trust with the biggest clients? Who’s burning out ? Who’s too valuable to lose but too inconsistent to promote? The rhetoric is human. The math is col

Feedback Is a Contact Sport - Building Resilience in Real Time with Todd White The Performance Quotient Listen Here What if the key to resilience isn’t grit - but great feedback? In this episode of the Performance Quotient , Will Lindstrom sits down with executive coach and ClearPeg.com founder, Todd White , to unpack why resilience isn’t about perfection - it’s about taking your at-bats, failing forward, and listening well enough to improve. Highlights:  Why annual performa

The Five Secrets of High Performers The Hidden Playbook of Top Performers "I want you to pay close attention. I’m going to say something that most people completely miss, but I trust that you’ll get it. When you started your career, you might have believed that success was about following the rules—working hard, checking off boxes, and waiting for that next promotion. But here's the truth: the highest performers, the ones who fast-track their careers, aren’t playing that game

Six Power Moves for Career Control The Insider's Perspective: The other day, I was talking with a friend- you know, one of those no-filter conversations where you skip the fluff. They hit me with this: “If you had to break it down, what are the must-have moves for someone to really succeed in their career? Not the surface stuff - what’s the real  playbook?” And I thought about it. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t - through wins, losses, hard lessons, and a whole lot of

Timeless Lessons: Why Dale Carnegie’s Insights Still Resonate Today I ran across my old Golden Book from Dale Carnegie training the other day. The pages are worn, the corners dog-eared, and it’s clear it’s been through some life with me. But the insights? As fresh and relevant as ever. It reminded me of the first time I opened this book and how it became a companion to some of my most formative professional and personal experiences. This rediscovery brought back vivid memorie