PQ is People Quotient®, the third quotient that sits right next to IQ and EQ. IQ is something we are born with. EQ is something we develop over time. PQ is a quotient that belongs to companies, and it is something you can invest in. It determines a company's ability to deliver results through its people. A company's PQ is made up of three pillars: leadership, organizational design and incentives, and talent operations.

Over 20 years of operating and investing, I saw that the companies that did really well were the ones consistently investing in their PQ. Of course, they did not call it PQ. But it was a conscious choice of investing in the right leaders, enabling people to thrive through structures and incentives while building trust, and building talent systems that consistently ensured the right people joined the company at the right time

In the world of AI, people have become even more important than they were before. With major change in play, you need people in both leadership and operational ranks to capitalize on this technology, while also ensuring your company's values and principles are preserved. And with potentially fewer seats around the table, those who are around you and in the company have become even more valuable, as they are the ones who will adopt and adapt to this change, serve your customers and help you win.

My whole idea is to build the capability inside your company. We use observed behavioral and operational data, not psychology. And we look at patterns across your entire team, not just individuals, so blind spots show up before they cost you. I bring the PE playbook for growth to a broader audience.

I am an operator first. I have spent more than 20 years in private equity, first at McKinsey's PE practice, then running businesses and later investing in them. Along the way I have reshaped more than 100 leadership teams. Today I help CEOs and owners build the team they need to hit their growth goals. I hold a Wharton MBA and a mechanical engineering degree, and I am the author of The People Priority: The CEO's Blueprint for Winning Talent Acquisition, a #1 International Bestseller and Gold Medal winner (Nonfiction Authors Association), published by Fast Company Press. I have been featured in Business Insider, AP and Fast Company.

Because of what I watched my parents go through. When we moved to New Zealand they spent two years getting rejection letters for being "overqualified," and worked factory night shifts to get by. That is where my belief that "talent is talent" comes from. Where someone is from, or what they look or sound like, does not tell you what they can do. Then, as I got into business, particularly service businesses, I realized that without people showing up to work and taking care of our customers, nothing would happen. Our businesses only exist because our people show up to work every day. That is why they are the most valuable asset.

I have run several P&Ls, from a $3 million revenue business with 40 employees to national P&Ls of over $350 million across thousands of employees, at local, regional and national scale. When I took on my first P&L, it was a landscape business in Pennsylvania. I had never run a business before. And it was losing money. But it was clear to me. It was always about the people. In landscaping, or any B2B service business, people are your fuel. So I stepped back and asked three questions. Do I have the right leaders around me? Are people in the right roles, with the right incentives to deliver our strategy? And can we attract great people, and keep them? Within a couple of years, that business went from losing money to the top of the table in our portfolio.

It is all about the people. They come first, and the numbers follow. If you take care of your people, they take care of your customers, and everything else will be fine. I also learned the hard way that your best account manager will not always make a good branch manager. When that promotion fails, you lose both.

I have reshaped over 100 management teams, from B2B services to technology, advisory and manufacturing.

Everything starts with your context, strategy and goals. Then we identify who you have who meets the bar, as individuals and as a team; who can get there with coaching; and who is simply missing. You get a prioritized list of who to add, when, and why, and the process and structure to get them. I support you through implementation: refining job descriptions, building incentives that make sense for the role, helping triage resumes, and interviewing alongside you. And I train and coach you, your HR and your teams to run the whole process yourselves.

From diagnostic to implementation, it takes six months. But the PQ Playbook is purposely designed to be modular, so we can accelerate certain modules based on the needs of your company. Some of the diagnostic work can be completed in days and weeks, resulting in actions you can implement.

All work is done through you, as the CEO or business owner. We can work exclusively with you, but if you wish to include any members of your team, we would welcome that. We never reach out to anyone on your team without your explicit knowledge and approval.

Yes. I have spent more than 20 years in private equity. Whether it is deals, organizational changes or confidential people matters, I take confidentiality as a sacred value. Everything is confidential: your strategy, financials, documents, decisions, and the discussions we have with you.

By the time losses and delays hit your P&L, they have been in your people for months. People costs are one of the largest line items in most P&Ls. The longer you wait to make a change, the more expensive it is for your business. And the impact is not just financial. It affects your culture, customer service, reputation and ability to get better talent, and eventually your ability to scale and compete, not to mention win.

Every engagement is built around your context, strategy and goals. During your confidential call, we will first understand what you are solving for, how we can best help, and what your investment could look like.