Before hunting for acquisitions, the internal business owner (deal sponsor) must write a thesis answering "what problem are we solving?" This prevents reactive M&A driven by inbound opportunities and ensures strategic alignment from the start, separating the "why" from the "who."

Successful M&A is driven by a deliberate strategy to fill a known gap (geography, service, IP). In contrast, reactive M&A, often a panicked response to market pressure or a competitor's move, usually leads to a botched deal and value destruction.

M&A teams often kill their pipeline by applying overly restrictive criteria at the long-list stage. A better approach is to be more lenient, focusing on only 3-4 critical criteria. This creates a large pool of potential targets, fostering a healthy funnel dynamic instead of a restrictive "must-win" tunnel.

Effective due diligence isn't a checklist, but the collection of many small data points—revenue, team retention, customer love, CVC interest. A strong investment is a "beam" where all points align positively. Any misalignment creates doubt and likely signals a "no," adhering to the "if it's not a hell yes, it's a no" rule.

A stated M&A strategy is only a hypothesis. To validate it, present the leadership team with actual potential targets that fit the criteria. Their reactions will reveal their true appetite and expose any misalignment between the written strategy and their operational instincts, saving time and effort.

Many M&A teams focus solely on closing the deal, a critical execution task. The best acquirers succeed by designing a parallel process where integration planning and value creation strategies are developed simultaneously with due diligence, ensuring post-close success.

By the time a strategic acquirer enters due diligence, the desire to do the deal is already high. The process's primary purpose is not to hunt for deal-breakers but to confirm key assumptions and, more importantly, to gather the necessary data to build a robust and successful integration plan.

Mergers and acquisitions are a means to accelerate a pre-existing strategy, not the objective itself. When conditions for a deal change unexpectedly, disciplined leaders must be willing to pivot from a full merger to a passive stake rather than force a flawed integration or admit defeat.

Instead of a linear process, treat M&A as a spiral. Constantly revisit and adjust deal structure, diligence findings, and integration plans. A discovery in one area (e.g., diligence) should trigger a reassessment of the others (e.g., deal structure), ensuring a cohesive and de-risked outcome.