Council Capital intentionally uses the term 'toolkits' instead of 'playbooks.' This reflects a collaborative philosophy of equipping portfolio companies with tools and resources to solve unique problems, rather than dictating a one-size-fits-all strategy.
To ensure hiring assessments are effective, Council Capital analyzed hundreds of past hires. They correlated assessment scores with on-the-job success, proving a statistical link for their context and justifying the tool's use as a predictive, though not perfect, data point in their process.
Rather than using personality assessments to accept or reject candidates, the firm uses the results to craft more insightful interview questions. This helps them probe for specific traits and understand role fit without making the test a pass/fail gate, acknowledging there is no single 'good' personality.
Council Capital's Tim Schulte notes a common mistake is focusing on "how can we solve this?" instead of leveraging collective knowledge. The better first question is "who else has faced this problem?" This accesses existing resources, templates, and learnings across a firm's portfolio.
The primary focus for a new portfolio company leader in the first 100 days should be on three pillars. First, align the company's plan with the PE firm's thesis. Second, ensure the right executive team is in place. Third, establish reliable data and KPIs to measure progress.