Design vs. execution in M&A

In this special father-daughter episode, My daughter interviews me on my new book on Buyer-Led M&A™. We break down the framework built from over 400 practitioner interviews—covering why traditional M&A is flawed, how to shift from reactive auction-chasing to proactive deal sourcing, and why integration planning must begin during diligence. 💡 Things you will learn: 🔹 Why integration planning during diligence (not after) determines deal success

🔹 How the five pillars of buyer-led M&A transform reactive processes into strategic engines

🔹 Why proactive deal sourcing beats bank-led auctions every time

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This episode is brought to you by S&P Global.

Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. If you're in corp dev or PE, you know the pain — good private company data is hard to come by. Everyone's still chasing clean, reliable, up-to-date data. I started out using CapIQ Pro for public comps, but didn't realize until recently how deep their private company coverage has gotten. Over 58 million private companies, global reach, and actually usable for real deal work. This isn't surface-level. You get real metrics — ownership, financials, funding rounds, even asset-level insights. So if you're still toggling between a dozen tools trying to piece together the picture, maybe it's time to stop guessing and start sourcing better.

Learn More Here: https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/solutions/products/private-company-data?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=MAScienceH225

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Buyer-Led M&A™: The Framework is Now Available

Traditional M&A is broken. Buyers chase auctions. Sellers control the process. It's reactive, inefficient, and exhausting.

After 300+ episodes of M&A Science, I've taken insights from the world's top corp dev leaders and distilled them into a practical framework for taking control of your M&A pipeline—how to source deals directly, build relationships earlier, and stop being auction-chasers.

If you'd like to build a proactive M&A program that founders actually want to engage with, you can grab your copy. https://dealroom.net/resources/ebooks/buyer-led-m-a-tm-the-framework _________________ Everything You Need to Learn Modern M&A — In One Membership

Access proven templates, frameworks, and real operator insights — all designed to help you learn faster, make smarter decisions, and run Buyer-Led M&A with confidence. Sign up now with promo code "FOUNDER" for 50% off at checkout. https://www.mascience.com/membership __________________

Episode Timestamps

[00:00:00] Introduction to Buyer-Led M&A – Kison introduces his new book and the framework for flipping traditional M&A from reactive to proactive deal-making.

[00:05:30] The M&A Science Origin Story

[00:08:30] The Maturity Curve Problem – Why companies make catastrophic mistakes on their first deal and how the buyer-led framework accelerates learning.

[00:12:30] Integration Is Where Value Lives – Understanding that the real work starts after close and why planning integration early prevents people from quitting.

[00:19:00] M&A Has a Design Problem, Not an Execution Problem – Why focusing on closing deals instead of making deals successful creates systemic failure.

[00:25:00] The Five Pillars of Buyer-Led M&A – Breaking down never M&A on impulse, unified tools, synchronized diligence-integration, scalability, and win-win approaches.

[00:37:30] The Three Coats of Conviction – How reactive positioning, integration negligence, and model mirage derail even well-intentioned deals.

[00:49:00] What Elite Buyers Do Differently – Early alignment, clear accountability, defined operating models, and building M&A as an organizational muscle.

[00:54:00] Proprietary Deal Sourcing Beats Auctions – The house-buying analogy that illustrates why doing the hard work of finding your own deals creates better outcomes.

[01:00:30] The Single Most Important Takeaway – Own your assumptions, validate them through rigorous work, and lead the process instead of letting sellers drive it.

Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.