Dear BTF Community,
When markets tighten and uncertainty rises, financial strategies often take center stage. But for Debby Carreau, CEO of Inspired HR and 2025 BTF Vancouver Conference Chair, the real test of leadership lies in how owners handle the human side of business.
As a workplace strategist, serial entrepreneur, and advisor to organizations navigating growth and transition, Debby has seen firsthand how trust, culture, and leadership alignment can accelerate or undermine enterprise value.
Her insights are especially relevant for entrepreneurs preparing for succession, acquisitions, or sale, where the people side of the business is often the most overlooked factor.
Key Takeaways:
- Trust and communication are non-negotiable leadership traits during uncertainty.
- Culture integration is often the overlooked reason acquisitions underperform.
- Viewing people as profit drivers, not costs, is the foundation of sustainable growth.
Enjoy,
Mark
Trust: The Currency Of Leadership
Debby has advised countless executives through acquisitions, turnarounds, and restructuring. In every case, the first question is the same: do people believe what you say?
“The leader needs to be trustworthy. Without that, no matter what you do, your organization’s not going to be successful because the people… they’re not going to believe your strategy.”
Rebuilding trust after disruption requires three disciplines:
- Communication: Be transparent, even when you can’t share everything.
- Consistency: Leaders at every level must reinforce the same messages.
- Alignment: Supervisors and departments should rally around a shared goal.
Lose alignment, Debby warns, and mistrust gains momentum: “Once there’s this little undercurrent of mistrust, it tends to grow.”
Culture As A Deal Variable
For entrepreneurs preparing for transition, Debby is clear: culture is not a side note in M&A, it’s the variable that makes or breaks pro Formas.
“Culture, culture, culture. When the acquired company doesn’t meet its targets, it often comes down to culture and the failure to integrate successfully.”
Owners often over-invest in ERP integrations and under-invest in people integration.
The result? Resistance, attrition, and missed synergies. From small changes like switching email systems to major shifts in reporting lines, cultural missteps can erode trust and ultimately stall performance.
This lesson feels especially relevant to business owners considering an exit, as buyers increasingly assess not just your numbers but your leadership bench, engagement levels, and cultural resilience. Weakness here can discount enterprise value.
People As A Lever For Growth
It’s tempting in volatile times to think first about trimming headcount but Debby argues that’s short-sighted:
“It may help profit in the very short term, but it’s not going to be sustainable growth.”
Instead, she urges owners to hire the best, pay them well, and tie them into the larger goal. High-performing people aligned to strategy don’t just protect profit; they accelerate it.
For owners looking to sell, this approach doesn’t just improve performance today. It signals to buyers that your people are an asset worth paying for.
The Founder’s Dilemma
Debby also acknowledges one of the hardest transitions of all: when founders sell and remain in the business under new ownership.
“Separating when it’s your emotions talking and when it’s actual business acumen is tricky. Our identity gets tied up in the business, and we tend to believe our way is the only way to be successful.”
For owners preparing to exit, her advice is to depersonalize decisions, accept that there are multiple paths to success, and know when to step back so the business can thrive under new leadership.
Why This Matters For Our BTF Audience
At BTF, we often talk about financial readiness: audited statements, deal structures, valuations. Debby’s perspective is a reminder that human capital readiness is just as critical and you must ask yourself:
- Are your people aligned to strategy?
- Is your culture resilient to change?
- Can your leadership team earn trust in the face of disruption?
These are the factors that will either protect or erode enterprise value when it matters most.
Final Reflection
Debby Carreau’s message is clear: in times of uncertainty, numbers may tell the story, but people determine the ending.
As you prepare for growth, transition, or exit, remember that trust, culture, and alignment are not intangible, they are the assets buyers notice, investors reward, and teams rally behind.
We’re excited to explore these themes further with Debby at BTF Vancouver 2025. For every entrepreneur in our community, her insights are a call to lead with clarity, invest in culture, and treat people not as costs but as the true drivers of enterprise value.