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What I Shared on The Private Equity Podcast: My 100-Day CEO Playbook for Profitable Growth
by Bill Canady in Draft
October 28, 2025
Recently, I sat down with Alex Rawlings on The Private Equity Podcast by Raw Selection to discuss the practical, no-nonsense systems I use to get results. We talked about how to focus your efforts, build a world-class team, and simplify complex operations to drive profitable growth.
You can listen to the full episode and dive into all the insights here. I’m sharing some of the key takeaways from that conversation below.
I’ve spent my career leading companies backed by private equity, most recently as CEO of OTC Industrial Technologies and Arrowhead Engineered Products. Both are owned by Genstar Capital, one of the most impressive private equity firms I’ve worked with. People often ask me how I manage two large organizations simultaneously. The truth is, it comes down to having a system, a repeatable, data-driven process I call the Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS).
This system allows me to stabilize, grow, and position businesses for a successful exit without guessing, rushing, or wasting capital. In private equity, every decision has to produce a measurable return. That’s the mindset that drives everything I do.
Why Speed Matters in Private Equity
If there’s one mistake I see time and again in private equity, it’s moving too slowly. Many CEOs and portfolio leaders spend their first six months just learning the ropes, understanding where the bathroom is, so to speak. But in private equity, time equals return.
You have a narrow window right after acquisition when you can make bold, transformative changes. If you hesitate, you lose momentum. I’ve learned that you need to move fast, but never recklessly. That’s why I rely on a structured, 100-day process to establish goals, strategy, structure, and action, all rooted in hard data, not gut instinct.
My 100-Day Process: From Goals to Action
When I take control of a new company, we start on Day 1 with four foundational meetings that set the tone for everything ahead.
- The Goal Meeting – Math First, Always
This is where we decide the end game. We define what return on invested capital (MOIC, or Multiple on Invested Capital) we need to deliver for our investors, typically 3x or more. We look at the business today, project what it can sell for, and calculate exactly how big we have to grow. Then, we break that growth into two buckets: organic and acquisitive. - The Strategy Meeting – The Roadmap
Once we know the goal, we define how to reach it. I always say, if you make industrial pumps, don’t start looking at restaurants. Stay in your lane and double down where you’re strong. - The Structure Meeting – Organize to Win
This is where most companies fail. They have great strategies but don’t organize themselves to execute. I make sure our structure, teams, responsibilities, and reporting are all aligned with our strategy. - The Action Meeting – Execution Mode
Finally, we map out specific steps, ownership, and timelines. By this point, everyone understands the why, the how, and the when. In 100 days, we’ve gone from introduction to execution, what I call our “stub year.”
After this, we enter the “Earn the Right to Grow” phase, focused on doing what we said we would do and measuring every move through data.
The Data That Drives Every Decision
My operating model is built on one core principle: the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of your results come from 20 percent of your efforts. I’ve never seen a business where this doesn’t hold true.
We analyze two data sets in depth:
- Customers
- Products
We run a two-dimensional analysis to find out which customers are buying which products.
A customers buy A products, our sweet spot.
B customers often buy lower-margin, complex products that drain resources.
When we shift resources away from B customers and B products and refocus on the A quadrant, profits skyrocket without adding capital. That’s what private equity loves: self-funding growth.
We also take practical actions like raising minimum order quantities and adjusting pricing for customers who aren’t truly partners. It’s not about firing customers; it’s about ensuring mutual value.
The Toughest Lesson: You Can’t Please Everyone
Many leaders struggle with the idea of “cutting” customers. I get it, it’s emotional. We naturally want every sale we can get. But math doesn’t lie.
I’ve seen the numbers across multiple industries: about 200 percent of your profit comes from A customers. That means you’re losing money elsewhere. Usually, the bottom 4 percent of revenue, your smallest and least loyal customers, consumes 25 percent of your costs.
That’s why I tell my teams: you don’t have to fire anyone, but you do have to change the rules. For example, at Arrowhead, we raised the minimum shipping quantity. If a small online seller wants to continue ordering, they now need to commit to pallet-size orders. Many can’t, and that’s okay. They can buy from Amazon instead. This lets us focus our operations on customers who value us and are willing to grow with us.
The Virtual Advantage: Running Two Companies at Once
Five years ago, I couldn’t have imagined leading two global businesses at the same time. But technology changed everything.
At both OTC and Arrowhead, my leadership teams are largely virtual. We collaborate across time zones using digital tools, hold structured meetings, and operate through clear processes rather than geography.
The beauty of running companies through a defined system is that it doesn’t matter what product you sell, whether pumps, engines, or power tools, the process scales. It’s not about control; it’s about alignment.
Building a Profitable Growth Operating System
Over time, I’ve formalized my approach into what I call the Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS). It combines five key components:
- 80/20 Thinking – Focus on what truly drives profit
- Lean Principles – Eliminate waste and inefficiency
- Talent Alignment – Hire people who follow process and data, not emotion
- Strategic Planning – Annualized, measurable, and adaptive
- Mergers & Acquisitions – The rocket fuel that accelerates expansion
This framework is the reason I can scale businesses quickly, profitably, and sustainably. It’s also the foundation for my upcoming book series, starting with Profitable Growth Operating System: Take Command of Your Business.
The Power of Data Over Emotion
Leading with data isn’t about removing humanity from decision-making. It’s about removing bias. The emotional side of business is where most mistakes are made. In private equity, every emotional decision has a cost.
That’s why I always remind my teams that our goal is to make money. The faster we reach the exit, the better the return for everyone: investors, employees, and customers alike. Every action must be self-funding, not dependent on another round of capital.
This philosophy has helped me build companies that thrive on performance, not hope.
Looking Ahead
As I continue writing my books and refining PGOS, my mission is simple: help other leaders take command of their businesses through clarity, speed, and discipline.
Private equity doesn’t reward good intentions. It rewards results. But when you combine data-driven execution with a high-performing team that believes in the process, results are inevitable.
At the end of the day, success in private equity leadership comes down to three words:
Go fast. Think clearly. Follow the data.
[00:00]
Host (Alex):
What's one mistake that you see private equity firms or portfolio companies making, and what actions would you suggest to correct it?
[00:05]
Bill Canady:
You know, the most obvious one is—it sounds kind of totally backwards—what people think is “go too slow,” right? As soon as I get my hands on the new company, our first meeting is the goal meeting, and the goal meeting is nothing more than math. The thing I love about private equity is it’s all about what return you need to get in order for it to be successful for everyone involved.
We start doing those actions, and it’s really all driven out of the data. You have to grow this business. Remember, private equity, we have one goal—and what’s that goal?
For absolute cracker, we have Bill Canady, CEO of OTC Industrial Technologies. Welcome back to the Raw Selection Private Equity Podcast. Joining us today is Bill Canady, CEO of OTC Industrial Technologies and also CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products, both backed by private equity. Welcome, Bill, and thank you very much for sharing your insights.
[00:46]
Bill Canady:
Hey, thank you. It’s great to be here.
[00:48]
Host (Alex):
So Bill, if you could give us a 60 to 90 second breakdown of you, please.
[00:54]
Bill Canady:
Well, as you said, I’m CEO of two different companies. I started out with OTC. Our private equity sponsor is a wonderful company called Genstar—they’re San Francisco-based and probably the best ones I’ve ever worked for.
We took over OTC, got the company turned around, and took it from about 700 million to over a billion in a couple of years. And the reward you get when you do really well is—you get more work, right? So, Arrowhead is a great company as well. It’s going through kind of a bit of a rough time, and they brought myself and my CFO in to help out there. It’s really responding.
Arrowhead focuses primarily on power sports and outdoor power equipment.
As for myself personally, I live in Florida, down in the Sarasota area, and have over 100 locations across the United States. Arrowhead is a global company—we’re in about 50 different countries.
Been married 31 years to the same amazing woman, got two fabulous daughters—one’s getting ready to be a dentist, Sarah, getting married in March; and the other one just became a new mom. So, I got my first grandson, little Colin Arthur.
[02:07]
Host (Alex):
Absolutely sounds it. And congratulations on being a grandparent—to both you and your wife. So, what’s one mistake that you see private equity firms or portfolio companies making, and what actions would you suggest to correct them?
[02:22]
Bill Canady:
You know, the most obvious one is—it sounds totally backwards—what people think is “go too slow,” right? You need a process, a series of questions, a way of getting at the data.
A lot of times, people will take the first six months just to figure out where the bathroom’s at. But private equity—it’s all about the return. And the return is driven by many things, one of those being time.
When you come in as a new CEO or sponsor, everything gets shaken up and you have a limited window where you can really make great changes. So, you’ve got to be thoughtful, careful—but you’ve got to go fast. Figure out where the profit pools are, and have a systematic way to get through it.
[03:26]
Host (Alex):
Love that. The obvious question, Bill—you mentioned you’re working for a private equity firm that’s brought you in on two platforms. You’re the first person I’ve ever heard of that’s CEO of two businesses, both backed by the same firm. Why isn’t one enough—and how are you managing two instead of one?
[03:49]
Bill Canady:
A few years ago, there’s no way I could’ve done this. But today, almost all my leadership team is virtual. If you go to Arrowhead in Blaine, Minnesota—big building there—I think there’s 10 people in the whole thing. Same thing with OTC—it’s a small headquarters.
Five years ago, no way this would be possible. But today, with technology and what we’re after, it absolutely is.
The second thing we bring to the table is a process. That process doesn’t care what the product is—it’s about how we approach it. This was an opportunity to help Genstar out, help the company out, stabilize the business.
It’s working great for one reason—the team. We want to give a superior return to our partners, particularly our investors.
[05:54]
Host (Alex):
Excellent. You mentioned it’s down to the process. What are some of those processes that have allowed you to be a chief exec?
[06:21]
Bill Canady:
We have a very thoughtful process. We show up and do what we call the 100-day process.
Day one, we have four meetings:
- The Goal Meeting – It’s all math. Private equity is about determining the return required for success.
- The Strategy Meeting – How do we achieve that goal?
- The Structure Meeting – Most companies fail here. Great strategy, but no organization around it.
- The Action Meeting – The tactical steps to execute.
We move fast in those 100 days—we’re an inch deep and a mile wide—pulling knowledge and alignment from the team.
[10:14]
Bill Canady:
At the same time, we hold three company-wide town halls. That’s our first 100 days—we call it our “stub year.”
Then we shift into “Earn the Right to Grow,” our first full year, where we take those actions and execute. It’s all data-driven—the data tells us what to do.
[11:27]
Host (Alex):
What are the data points that you predominantly look at to drive growth and strategy?
[11:43]
Bill Canady:
I branded it the Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS). At its heart is the 80/20 rule—80% of results come from 20% of what we do.
We look deeply at two things:
- Customers
- Products
We categorize them into A and B:
- A customers buy A products (profitable).
- B customers buy B products (low margin).
The secret? Identify the B customers/products and shift resources to the A’s. That’s how you grow without needing more capital.
[14:49]
Bill Canady:
Our best customers buy a lot, pay their bills, and value us. About 200% of profit comes from A customers—which means you’re losing money on the rest.
We don’t fire customers; we restructure how we serve them.
[19:48]
Bill Canady:
For example, at Arrowhead we had “bunny slipper customers”—small online sellers who ordered one part at a time. That model increased cost.
We raised the minimum order size. Suddenly, only serious, valuable customers stayed. Those who didn’t could buy through Amazon, which is built for that scale.
[24:30]
Host (Alex):
So you’re reducing the opportunity for smaller businesses to trade with you—and if they do, it’s in larger quantities?
[24:59]
Bill Canady:
Exactly. Technology has allowed small players to disintermediate, but our factories aren’t built for millions of small orders.
When I took over OTC, we had 8 million SKUs—too many to make money on. Today, we’re down to about 2 million, with 250,000 core profitable items.
[27:54]
Bill Canady:
When I come into a business, I don’t have preconceived notions. The math shows where we make money. My role as CEO is to define the mission and the goal—the hill we’ll take.
Everyone’s aligned because, in private equity, the goal is clear: make money and reach the exit.
[29:30]
Host (Alex):
You’ve written multiple books. Why write several scheduled releases instead of one at a time?
[30:13]
Bill Canady:
The model we use is built around Pareto’s 80/20 principle, combined with Lean, Talent, Strategy, and M&A.
- 80/20 shows where to focus.
- Lean removes waste.
- Talent ensures people follow process and data, not emotions.
- Strategy aligns execution.
- M&A adds rocket fuel.
We focus on 3–5-year horizons like everyone else in PE.
[33:51]
Bill Canady:
The first book: Profitable Growth Operating System – Take Command of Your Business (PGOS)
Second: Earn the Right to Grow (focused on 80/20)
Third: Thinking Is Required (strategy)
Fourth: It Takes Three (building the right executive team).
You need three people:
- The CEO – leads with data.
- Operators – execute the process.
- Profit leader – manages 80/20 and strategy tools.
[36:14]
Bill Canady:
The first book is in final editing and should be out in Spring (mid-February). Earn the Right to Grow comes out in summer, Thinking Is Required in fall, and more to follow next year.
[37:37]
Bill Canady:
I’m a huge history buff—especially World War II and U.S. founding history. I read biographies. A professor once told me: “We study the past to understand the present and predict the future.” I find that true today.
[39:12]
Host (Alex):
And if anyone wants to reach out to you, Bill, how best can they do that?
[39:17]
Bill Canady:
A couple of ways: my website billcanady.com or by email at [email protected].
[39:46]
Host (Alex):
Well, Bill, thank you very much for joining us. Really appreciate your insight, your PGOS system, and how it helps us improve our organizations.
[40:17]
Bill Canady:
Thank you, Alex. It’s been a real joy meeting you and learning more about what you do.
[40:22]
Host (Alex):
Absolutely. And as always, thank you very much to all those joining us.
