For decades, the concept of “Skunkworks” has been synonymous with innovation under extreme constraints. Originating with Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Projects in the 1940s, Skunkworks projects proved that small, highly focused, and autonomous teams could achieve breakthroughs faster than traditional corporate structures allowed.

Private equity firms have perfected the art of sourcing deals, structuring capital, and driving value through operational improvements. But when it comes to post-merger integration, too many firms underestimate the complexity and it’s costing them real money.

Agility and innovation are the currency of success, one critical investment is quietly being sidelined: employee training. At Stonehill, we’ve seen firsthand how companies are scaling back learning and development budgets in favor of short-term gains. But here’s the truth, neglecting training isn’t just a missed opportunity, it’s a strategic risk that can erode your competitive edge from the inside out.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are designed to accelerate growth, unlock synergies, and increase enterprise value. Yet, studies show that most deals fail to deliver their intended results. While financial due diligence and strategic alignment receive significant attention, the people side of integration is often underestimated.

Mergers and acquisitions are powerful tools for growth, but they are also notoriously difficult to get right. While the headlines focus on deal size and market opportunity, the real test begins once the paperwork is signed. Studies consistently show that more than half of mergers fail to deliver their expected value. The main reason? The complexity of bringing two businesses together after the deal closes.

At Stonehill, we are passionate about unlocking the transformational potential of AI. Yet, time after time, we’ve seen organizations eager to deploy AI-driven solutions without first fully understanding or even documenting their internal processes. The result? Underwhelming outcomes, stalled deployments, or even failed rollouts.

In private equity, every decision is driven by value creation. Investors expect returns, limited partners expect performance, and portfolio company leadership is under pressure to deliver measurable results quickly. Traditionally, private equity firms have focused on financial levers like operational efficiency, cost reduction, and growth through acquisition.

Organizations often launch change initiatives centered around leadership priorities, process improvements, and internal alignment. However, they frequently miss the most critical perspective of all, the customers.

Even the most celebrated stage-gate frameworks can become silent bottlenecks. Lengthy approvals, exhaustive charters, and rigid baselines once ensured control, yet those same safeguards now threaten agility in markets where customer preferences and technologies pivot overnight. Forward looking organizations are re-examining legacy project management practices, not to abandon rigor, but to recalibrate it for speed, resilience, and measurable value creation.  

Customer experience (CX) is a growing area of focus for private equity (PE) firms. With hold periods shrinking and investor expectations increasing, understanding the voice of the customer has become a necessity, not a luxury. NPS, a metric that measures customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend a company, offers an accessible and scalable way to quantify customer sentiment.

Private equity firms are skilled at analyzing income statements, optimizing operations, and building growth strategies. But as competition increases and holding periods shorten, the best firms are looking beyond traditional financial metrics to gain a sharper edge. Two tools - Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) - are emerging as must-haves in the modern PE playbook.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has captured the minds of business leaders, technologists, and the public at large. From viral headlines to futuristic predictions, interest in AI has reached unprecedented heights. Yet curiosity alone does not drive transformation, impact stems from applied strategy.

Enterprise-wide software can transform a business—but only if implemented with precision and intention. From ERP systems to CRMs to data platforms, these tools promise efficiency, insight, and scalability. But too often, companies rush implementation and end up automating chaos instead of improving outcomes.

AI isn’t just a technology—it’s a mindset shift. For organizations trying to unlock its potential, the biggest challenge often isn’t the tools themselves—it’s knowing where to start and how to scale.

Innovation is no longer the domain of moonshot labs or lucky ideas. For today’s high-growth companies, it’s a capability—intentional, measurable, and operational.

Healthcare stands at the edge of radical reinvention. The pandemic didn’t just test the system—it exposed its structural weaknesses and created urgency around modernization. As the dust settles, five forces are shaping the path forward, pushing providers, payors, pharma, and digital health companies into a future defined by data, automation, personalization, and trust.

The real estate and construction industries are undergoing a profound transformation. Historically known for their risk-averse culture and reliance on traditional methods, these sectors are being forced to evolve rapidly. Shifts in consumer expectations, advances in technology, environmental imperatives, and economic volatility are pushing developers and builders to operate in entirely new ways.

In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the way a business makes people feel is becoming its most sustainable competitive edge. The rapid rise of AI tools—many of them commoditized, plug-and-play, and easily accessible—has leveled the playing field across industries. This democratization of technology is powerful, but it comes with a catch: when everyone has the same tools, the tools no longer set you apart.

Most companies aren’t failing because they lack good products or smart people. They’re failing because they’re structured for a world that’s already gone. While technology, customers, and competitors are changing at breakneck speed, many organizations are still operating with outdated blueprints—rigid hierarchies, siloed teams, and slow, linear decision-making.

If the last few years taught us anything, it’s that business doesn’t transform in neat, manageable waves anymore-it changes all at once. AI isn’t arriving gradually; it’s sweeping through every department. Customer expectations aren’t evolving; they’re jumping.