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Case Study: Aligning Leadership and Navigating a Partner Buyout in a Growing IT Company

Client: Growing IT Services & Managed Services Company
Industry: IT Services
Company Type: Entrepreneur‑led, growth‑stage business

Introduction - The Moment it was "Time"

This client leads a growing IT and managed services provider.

They had known of Activate Group's work for years through peer networks and appreciated the style-professional, direct, and experienced. In their mind, Activate Group was filed under, "When the time is right, this is who I'll work with."

That time came when they started navigating a significant ownership change and major structural decisions. The CEO realized they needed:

    • A sharper, more aligned leadership team, and

 

    • A seasoned CEO‑level sounding board who could help them think through ownership, structure, and people decisions from a business‑builder's perspective.

 

Leadership

Team Alignment

KPIs

Meeting Rhythms

Navigation

After Partner Buyout

Support

For CEO-Level Decisions

The Problem

When the CEO engaged Activate Group, a few intertwined challenges were on the table:

Ownership & structure decisions

    • The CEO was moving through a partner buyout with complex legal and financial implications.

 

    • They needed to understand, at a CEO level:
        • What different ownership and structure options would mean for the leadership and the company, and

       

        • How to make decisions they wouldn't regret three years later.

       

       

 

Leadership clarity & alignment

    • The management team was committed and capable, but there wasn't a crisp, shared view of:
        • Who owns what,

       

        • Where decisions should actually live, and

       

        • How to make sure everyone was truly rowing in the same direction, not just working hard.

       

       

 

KPIs & meeting rhythms that actually drive the business

    • The company had meetings and reports-but:
        • Not all metrics were truly driving behavior.

       

        • Some meetings felt like status updates rather than engines for performance.

       

       

 

The CEO had peers, advisors, a CPA, and attorneys, but they wanted:

"A CEO business coach I could go to for the big decisions-especially around ownership, structure, and people-because the coach has seen it so many times in other businesses and can see options I wouldn't come up with on my own."

CEO

Industry

Growing IT Services Provider

Business Type

Entrepreneur-Led

Offerings

Managed Services & Cybersecurity

How Activate Group Helped

The Activate Group came in first to work with the executive team, then evolved into the ongoing CEO business coach and sounding board.

Aligning the leadership team

    • Facilitated working sessions to clarify:
        • Who is accountable for what

       

        • How decisions flow

       

        • What each leader is truly responsible for

       

       

 

    • Helped the team shift from "everyone doing their own version" to a shared understanding of priorities and direction.

 

Sharpening KPIs and meeting rhythms

Worked with the CEO and the leaders to:

    • Identify the right KPIs for their business, not just generic IT metrics.

 

    • Build meeting rhythms where:

 

  • The right people are in the room,

  • The right numbers are discussed, and

  • The outcome is decisions and commitments, not just updates.

CEO‑level decision support

    • Acted as the CEO's personal coach as they navigated:
        • The partner buyout,

       

        • Structural and role changes, and

       

        • Tough calls around people and priorities.

       

       

 

    • Brought pattern recognition from working with many other CEOs through similar transitions-offering options and pitfalls to consider-while keeping every client's specifics strictly confidential.

 

Throughout, the Activate Group's style matched what the CEO wanted:

"They communicate in the style I like best-direct. It's okay if they tell me something I don't want to hear, because I need to hear it."

Results

The IT provider was already a healthy business. Working with Activate Group has helped the CEO and the team make it clearer, more aligned, and easier to lead through big changes.

Clearer leadership and alignment

    • The leadership team now has a much sharper understanding of:
        • Who is truly in charge of what

       

        • How decisions should be made and escalated

       

        • What it means to "row in the same direction" for the business

       

       

 

Better metrics and more focused meetings

    • KPIs are more focused and relevant to how the company actually creates value.

 

    • Executive meetings are more about:
        • The right numbers,

       

        • Real decisions, and

       

        • Clear follow-through, rather than just status updates.

       

       

 

A trusted CEO coach for high‑stakes decisions

    • The CEO has an ongoing relationship with a coach who:
        • Has walked through partner changes and structural decisions with many other CEOs.

       

        • Will tell the CEO what they need to hear, not just what's comfortable.

       

        • Helps the CEO see options and consequences they might miss on their own.

       

       

 

Client's Words

"Howard is my CEO business coach. I go to him for the big decisions-especially around ownership, structure, and people-because he's seen it so many times in other businesses and can see options I wouldn't come up with on my own."

"Howard is my CEO business coach. I go to him for the big decisions-especially around ownership, structure, and people-because he's seen it so many times in other businesses and can see options I wouldn't come up with on my own."

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