A PE CEO and I spoke over the holiday. He’s frustrated with the talent he’s seeing which includes a lot of big company executives, who have led “matrix’d organizations,” with steady operations. But no entrepreneurs… no strategic business growth leaders.
Then we talked about tugboats.
A container ship captain manages immense responsibility—20,000 containers worth millions. It’s a massive P&L.
Yet, once in open water, the ship runs on autopilot. Routes are set, schedules planned, and only minor adjustments are needed. The 15–20 crew members perform routine tasks, and the captain relies on pilots and tugboats when entering or leaving port.
It’s a stable job.
The tugboat captain, however, commands a much smaller vessel, with significant impact.
He’s constantly correcting for shifting tides and currents, guiding multiple ships daily, and faces unique challenges with every task. Success depends on leadership, adaptability, and precision. The stakes are high, and the rewards are significant.
This dichotomy reflects a conversation I once had with a GM from a large aerospace company. Offered a role as president of a smaller private equity-owned firm, he declined, saying, “I have a $400M P&L now. That one just seems small.”
Big companies are like container ships—structured, steady, and staffed with talented teams managing predictable operations. Leaders may tweak the course slightly, but transformative changes are rare.
And many large company executives claim they want to be more entrepreneurial, but don’t understand the radical mindset shift that comes with it. Large, steady, and slow to change does not cut it.
If you want to be in Private Equity – think tugboat.
