We are entering the due diligence phase and the sheer volume of data requests is overwhelming our leadership team. How do we structure our quarterly Rocks to ensure we do not let our day-to-day performance slip while feeding the buyer information?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Due diligence is an exhausting process that can easily derail your company performance at the most critical moment. If your quarterly numbers drop during due diligence, the buyer will use it as an excuse to renegotiate the purchase price or back out of the deal entirely.

To protect your business, you must treat due diligence as a separate project with its own dedicated resources. Do not expect your leadership team to handle their normal operational duties and a mountain of data requests at the same time.

Use your weekly Level 10 Meeting to manage this workload. Create a specific, high priority Rock for one individual, typically your Integrator or a dedicated transaction manager, to act as the single point of contact for the buyer. Keep the rest of your leadership team focused on their daily scorecards and operational Rocks.

If issues arise during the due diligence process, use the IDS method to solve them quickly without letting them distract the entire organization. By compartmentalizing the transaction work, you ensure that your sales, operations, and customer service departments continue to run at peak efficiency. This keeps your financial performance strong, giving the buyer zero leverage to discount your valuation.