CEO Weekly Outlook

Good afternoon, all. Today, we’re reading about asking the 5 whys to get at the root cause of internal problems. Chief Executive discusses the importance of communication, which improves employee curiosity, learning and innovative thinking.

Meanwhile, Harvard Business Review weighs in on the impact private equity firms can have on innovation. While not always the main goal of the private equity firm, firm innovation is often an unintended effect of the financial security brought to the table by a PE-backing.

Business Insights

• The bad behavior of visionary leaders
• Pitfalls to avoid when you inherit a team
• Founder vs. non-founder CEOs–Mark Zuckerberg answers
• 5 phrases that signal you’re about to make a bad decision
• The history and future of operations
• How to unlock positive change throughout your entire organization
• 4 questions that help build a winning leadership team
• An experiment in enlivening stagnant teams
• How great leaders ask great questions
• Reward your best teams, not just star players
• Getting at the root cause of internal problems by asking 5 whys
• Daily habits of 20 highly successful people
• 4 ways to develop a culture of respect and trust
• 5 guidelines for knowing when to make an immediate decision or when to wait

Transaction Toolbox

• Private equity can make firms more innovative
• Talent management at portfolio companies can be critical
• Four do’s and don’ts to avoid ConAgra’s merger mistake
• 10 powerful ways to inject discipline into the revenue-generation process
• Why entrepreneurs are selling too cheaply
• How to use your sales team most effectively to drive organic growth
• As communication improves, culture improves, as does the bottom line
• As more tech start-ups stay private, so does the money
• How scaling my company almost killed me

Middle Market Move of the Week:

The era of the specialist private equity firm has arrived. North Castle, a private equity firm focused on consumer businesses that promote, healthy, active and sustainable living recently bought middle market Sprout Organic Foods.

Sprout Organic Foods is a leading brand in the organic baby food market, and looks forward to the extensive experience North Castle brings as a specialist in the natural and organic food market. Read the full press release here.