Examines the ecosystem relationships between middle market private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Small business is the job creating engine in the US economy, and consequently is a prime target market for private equity investment. 'John has taken stock of the lessons learned in his many years of real world experience and distilled them into a useful and pragmatic synthesis in this book. It is refreshing to see the attention paid to many topics often overlooked and underappreciated as value levers in investing.' Ric Andersen, Milestone Partners, USA 'When I first met John, I suggested that we were separated at birth. In working with John several times thereafter, I realized he is the smarter twin. This book needs to be open on every PE firm's deal team desks. IT diligence, hiring the right people, viewpoint gaps between the firm's financial and operating members... I could go on and on. Read this book. It will change how you create value.' Lloyd Rogers, Riverside Partners, USA 'Building best-in-class companies in the middle market, while creating greater shareholder value, is both challenging and rewarding. This book contains many of the principles that Excellere Partners embraces in its own value-creation partnership model, and for good reason. We worked with John Lanier for a dozen years - seven as his client before asking him to become our partner. Creating value requires a tremendous amount of strategic thinking, coupled with a disciplined process to execute strategic initiatives - this is done to strengthen the company's foundation that will support significant future growth. This book is a gift for framing a value-creation model to both private equity firms and the companies in which they invest.' Robert A. Martin, Excellere Partners, USA