C3Ds Are Value-Accelerating Fire Breathers

Walking the halls of the EPI Summit in Nashville, I found myself listening differently.

From the panels to the hallway conversations.
From the formal sessions to the quiet exchanges over coffee and late-night drinks.

And somewhere between those moments, a pattern started to emerge.

It wasn’t just what was being said. It was how people were engaging with the work.

I heard a lot of smart thinking about exit. I saw deep expertise in the room. But the longer I stayed with it, the clearer something became.

There were a lot of 1s and 2s. And not nearly enough 3s and 4s. We were 25 members of the Growth-Drive community in Nashville, 3s and 4s all - every time I turned around there we were.

The Gap We Don’t Talk About

There is a structural tension in our profession that deserves a closer look.

Only 17% of business owners are actively thinking about exit. And within that group, most are not ready. Roughly 83% lack the value required to fund their personal wealth goals, which means only a small fraction of the total market is truly transaction-ready.

Meanwhile, the majority of advisors continue to lead with exit as the primary conversation.

From a technical perspective, that makes sense. Exit planning is complex, valuable, and essential work. And to be clear:

Far from a critique of the exit planning profession, this is a call to arms! We honor exit planning, and the immortal relationship exit-planning wealth advisors have with their business-owning clients. Exit Planners + C3Ds = Delivering Client Wealth and Legacy.

Experience shows: from a market perspective, there is a mismatch.

Because most business owners are not thinking about exit.

They are thinking about growth.
They are thinking about freedom.
They are thinking about how to make the business easier to run.

The data is clear:

• 62% want to grow
• 21% want operational freedom
• 17% are thinking about exit

So when we lead with exit, we are speaking to a minority.

When we lead with growth and freedom, we meet the majority exactly where they are.

From Exit Conversations to Intent Conversations

C3Ds approach this differently. C3D means Certified in the 3 Dimensions of Business Growth: predictable profits and cash flow, predictable sustainable growth, and predictable transferable value. These are what the private capital markets value, with predictability boosting buyer confidence therefore post-due diligence M&A price.

C3Ds move the conversation from exit as the starting point to client intent as the foundation.

Strategic intent connects the business to the owner’s life, their wealth and their legacy. ‘Intent’ defines what success must deliver, not just financially, but personally and professionally.

And once that intent is clear, everything else aligns. C3Ds have the tools for this.

From selling services to guiding outcomes.
From isolated advice to integrated execution.
From episodic engagement to long-term value creation.

Seeing the Room Through a Different Lens

At the Summit, one framework kept coming back to me.

"Are you a 1 or a 5?"

• 1s talk
• 2s educate
• 3s design
• 4s guide execution
• 5s are fractional operators

What I saw in Nashville was a concentration of 1s and 2s. Talented professionals. Trusted advisors.

And I saw few 3s and 4s—the ones helping clients actually do the work. Actually increase the P/E ratio of their private business, achieving the highest multiples.

This is critical: value is not created in conversation, it is not created in planning.

Value is created in execution.

From Advice to Accountability

My good friend and colleague Mike Garrison C3D, EPI’s 2024 Member of the Year, captures this shift perfectly in his now-famous question, the title of his seminal book:

“Can I Borrow Your Car?”

Mike's book promotes a deceptively simple idea.

From offering advice to earning trust.
From explaining the road to being trusted to drive.

Because at the end of the day, business owners are not looking for more ideas.

They are looking for confidence that the plan will actually work.

C3Ds bring this confidence.

They follow a proven process.
They rely on data.
They create accountability through systems.

They don’t just point at the destination, they help drive the car.

Did you know? Four EPI Members of the Year are members of the Growth-Drive Community!

The Role of Strategic Capacity

This is where the conversation shifts again.

From exit as an event to Strategic Capacity as the engine of value.

Strategic Capacity is the business’s ability to predictably and sustainably grow profit, cash flow, and ultimately, equity value.

It reframes value creation:

From historical performance to future confidence.
From financial outputs to operational capability.
From founder dependence to institutional strength.

The private capital markets are not buying your past.

They are underwriting your future.

And that confidence is built through Strategic Capacity—not just financial history.

From Insight to Action: CLARITY, CLAIRE Ai, and the Doctrine

Understanding Strategic Capacity is one step. Building it is another.

This is where CLARITY and CLAIRE Ai come into play—within the framework of the Integrated Strategic Capacity Doctrine.

This doctrine brings together:

• The CEO
• The Senior Leadership Team
• The Advisory Team
• Software
• AI
• Data

All aligned toward one objective:

Increasing Strategic Capacity to accelerate growth and value, leading the business from where it is, to qualifying into the 85+ Strategic Capacity Asset Class.

CLARITY provides the diagnostic. It evaluates the business across 24 growth-driving objectives and answers a critical question:

How confident would an independent buyer be in this company’s ability to grow free cash flow?

CLAIRE Ai helps turn that insight into prioritized action.

Because insight is helpful.

And execution is what moves the needle.

As we like to say: Data informs. Execution performs.

From Exit Planning to Improving the P/E of Private Companies

Here’s another way to think about it.

Public company CEOs focus relentlessly on improving their P/E ratio.

Private business owners?

They often don’t realize they’re playing the same game.

C3Ds help CEOs do exactly that.

From managing income to increasing multiples.
From focusing on historic EBITDA to building confidence in future performance.

That’s what equity value planning really is.

More than just preparing for a transaction, we are systematically improving the multiple the market is willing to pay.

LEADING CLIENT BUSINESSES INTO the 85+ Asset Class

C3Ds meet clients where they are. (Remember 62% grow - 21% freedom - 17% sell?) 

And then they lead them forward by confirming intent and the business asset’s capacity to deliver.

From current state to structured growth.
From fragmented operations to aligned execution.
From dependence on the owner to independence as an asset.

The destination?

Qualifying into the 85+ Strategic Capacity Asset Class.

At this level:

• The business runs without the owner (maximizing exit options)
• Cash flow is predictable
• Growth is sustainable
• Buyers compete, not negotiate

The business doesn’t just operate.

It qualifies into an asset class.

What the doctrine calls an “immortal business.”

And yes—the data is in, those tend to trade pretty well.

An Invitation to the Industry

Together we must build on already works: We are about expanding advisory reach and relevance.

From serving the 17% to engaging the full market.
From planning for exit to building toward it.
From episodic value to continuous value creation.

C3Ds don’t compete with exit planners... They make exit planners more successful.

Where to Start

Every meaningful engagement begins the same way.

With a conversation.

Not about exit.

About intent.

The Growth-Drive One Page Strategy Planner is designed to guide this conversation. It aligns personal goals, professional outcomes, and business strategy on a single page.

It creates clarity.
It establishes direction.
It sets the foundation for execution.

Check it out: 👉 https://growth-drive-community.circle.so/c/tools/one-page-strategy-planner

Final Thought

As I left the Summit, I was energized.

The gap is clear. And where there is a gap, there is opportunity.

From talking about exit to building toward it.
From advising to executing.
From preparing businesses to sell to building businesses that deserve to be bought, businesses serving their clients as fountains of wealth and guardians of legacy.

Strategic Capacity drives growth and value. This is our work, and the advisors who lean in are not just participating in value creation, they are accelerating it.

With discipline, with data.
And yes—occasionally breathing a little fire.

We are the C3Ds: Value-Accelerating Fire Breathers.

If this resonates, let us know how we can help.