The $12 Million Lesson Hiding in Your Head with Adi Klevit

In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, I'm excited to welcome Adi Klevit of Business Success Consulting Group. Adi brings over 30 years of experience as a process consultant, executive, and entrepreneur, and she has made a name for herself by turning what many consider a dry topic into something engaging and actionable. She hosts the Systems Simplified podcast, has been featured in Inc.com, and is passionate about helping businesses bring order to their operations.

Adi and I share a connection through the Entrepreneurs' Organization, and I've been a guest on her podcast. In our conversation, we explore how systemizing a business can dramatically increase its enterprise value, why post-merger integration fails without proper processes in place, and how entrepreneurs can extract the unconscious competence that drives their success. Whether you're preparing your company for a potential exit, navigating the challenges of integrating an acquired business, or simply trying to scale without losing your sanity, this conversation offers practical insights for building businesses that serve your goals while creating genuine value.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT STARTS YOUNG

When I asked Adi what she wanted to be as a kid, her answer surprised me. She always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. At 10 or 12 years old, she had visions of walking into an office in a business suit and running the show.

But this wasn't just a childhood fantasy. Adi started a tutoring business when she was in 9th grade that grew entirely through referrals. She would have three or four sessions a week, made good money, and more importantly, she learned the fundamental entrepreneurial lesson early. She realized that if you don't promote while you deliver, your business dries up when clients graduate or achieve their goals. This early experience with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship planted the seeds for everything that came later, including her bookkeeping business through college and eventually her process consulting firm.

YOUR BUSINESS IS ONLY AS VALUABLE AS ITS PLAYBOOK

Adi shared a story that perfectly illustrates why documented processes matter for deals. A company called her about two months before our conversation. They had just acquired a business and realized it had nothing computerized, nothing documented, and 60 employees whose knowledge existed only in their heads. The new owner told Adi that if all those employees left tomorrow, he would have no idea how to run the company.

This is the nightmare scenario that due diligence should catch but often doesn't. When you sell a business with a manual, a documented system of operations, it becomes significantly more valuable. Adi worked with a painting company that documented all their processes, identifying what foreman number one does versus foreman number two. When the owner went to sell, he brought Adi into the meeting with the prospective buyer and the lawyers. She watched the buyer's eyes light up because he could see he wasn't just buying a painting company. He was buying a system and operation.

EXTRACTING UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE

One of the most powerful concepts we discussed is something called unconscious competence. Many entrepreneurs are extremely good at what they do but have no idea how they do it. I shared my own experience from years ago when I was in a course about systemization. The facilitator challenged us to pick something we thought was pure talent.

I picked business development. I believed I was simply good at bringing in clients, and that was a talent some people had and others didn't. But when I examined my approach, I realized I did the same things every time. I would walk out to greet prospects rather than wait at my desk. I would immediately reference the referral source to build rapport. When asked about fees, I would explain that I needed to understand their situation first. The order, the elements, the system was always the same. Once I distinguished that pattern, I could teach it to others. Maybe they wouldn't be as successful on day one, but they would have a framework and a massive head start.

WHY ENTREPRENEURS RESIST SYSTEMS

There's a perception among entrepreneurs that systems stifle creativity and freedom. Adi hears this resistance all the time. But she pointed out something important during our conversation. When I described my business development system, every meeting was different even though I followed the same framework. The creativity comes in adapting to the person in front of you, reading their energy, adjusting your approach. The system provides the structure; your talent provides the personalization.

Adi's first question when engaging potential clients is about their why. She needs to understand why they want to systematize because this work is hard. Someone who read about processes in a book or heard about them at a conference might not have enough motivation to push through. But when there's real pain, like fast growth creating chaos or a genuine vision for getting to the next level, that creates the commitment needed for success.

GETTING TEAMS TO ACTUALLY USE THE PROCESSES

Creating systems is one thing. Getting people to follow them is another challenge entirely. I've seen the same dynamic with technology implementations. Companies install the best CRM software in the world, and then nobody enters any data. Adi addresses this head on.

Her first question when business owners complain that people aren't following processes is simple. Did they read it? You cannot follow something you haven't read. Adi's team implements a rollout process that includes reading assignments, quizzes, and surveys. Everyone reads the documentation regardless of tenure. The 20-year veteran especially needs to read it because they're the ones most likely to operate on autopilot. Then comes coaching on how to use processes in day-to-day management. When issues arise, you pull up the process and ask whether the step was documented and whether it was followed. This creates a single source of truth and builds the muscle of using systems to solve problems.

THE COMPLEMENT TO ENTREPRENEURIAL OPERATING SYSTEMS

Many entrepreneurs in the Entrepreneurs' Organization community use some form of operating system like EOS, Scaling Up, or Strategic Coach. I was curious how Adi's work relates to these frameworks. Her answer made perfect sense. EOS implementers are actually her biggest referral source.

The operating systems provide strategic structure and accountability. They tell you that you need documented processes. But they don't do the documentation for you. Adi's firm serves as a fractional process team that creates the actual content and puts it into the appropriate platform. This relieves the frustration that EOS implementers feel when clients understand they need processes but never actually create them. Adi found her niche by doing the implementation work that entrepreneurs and their strategic consultants keep pushing off.

POST-DEAL INTEGRATION IS WHERE DEALS GO TO DIE

This is a topic I care deeply about. Too many people think the deal is done when the documents are signed and the lawyers are finished. But an enormous number of deals that look good on paper fall apart during post-merger integration. I explored this extensively in my conversation with Jonathan Gardner on Episode 337, where we discussed how integration teams need to be formed well before closing and given real authority to execute.

Adi works with many companies that grow through acquisition, particularly in the home health space. One client recently acquired a company and needed to bring the new employees up to speed on their systems within a short timeframe. The work involves identifying what each company does well, standardizing on best practices, and rolling out the unified approach to everyone. When two companies merge, even if both have good systems independently, those systems are different. The integration work determines whether the combined entity can function as one or remains two disconnected operations sharing a balance sheet.

THE MORNING AFTER CHALLENGE

You complete a deal, the celebration is over, and now you have two different companies that need to become one. Adi describes this as "the morning after" moment. It's like blending families, and anyone who has done that knows it requires intentional effort.

The areas that prove most problematic vary by business. Sometimes sales is the strong suit because the founder was great at it, but that means selling knowledge never got transferred to others. Sometimes the technical delivery is excellent but the operational systems behind it are nonexistent. A dentist might build a thriving practice based on clinical skill, but when that person exits, the systems for the operatories, the chair-side assistants, and the hygiene protocols might not exist. The extraction of that unconscious competence has to happen before or during the transition, not after the expert has walked out the door.

AI IS A TOOL, NOT A REPLACEMENT

Everyone asks about AI these days, and Adi embraces it. She's part of an AI collective that meets three times a year for off-sites. Her team uses tools like Scribe to record someone's screen and automatically generate instructions. But she pushes back hard on anyone who thinks AI can simply replace what she does.

Her team is actively trying to figure out how to leverage AI more effectively, and they still find themselves hiring additional writers. When AI generates process documentation, it might capture 28 steps, but human review reveals gaps and missing context. AI saves time, but it cannot ask the right questions, understand the nuances of a specific business, or ensure that best practices rather than just current practices get documented. As Adi noted, even using ChatGPT to generate a simple independent contractor agreement would be terrifying because you'd have no way to know if it was wrong.

FREEDOM THROUGH SYSTEMS

My final question on every episode asks about freedom, and Adi's answer tied together everything we discussed. For her, freedom is the ability to create. The more freedom she has, the more she can create. And paradoxically, the systems she builds for herself and her clients are what generate that freedom.

By implementing systems and building a team of loyal people she enjoys working with, Adi has created the space to do what she loves. She writes articles, delivers speaking engagements, and travels while her business continues to operate. This echoes what Pete Mohr shared on Episode 330 about how businesses that are exit-ready give owners more freedom, whether or not they actually intend to sell. When your business can run without you being involved in every decision, you have options. And options are freedom.

Tune in to this episode to hear Adi Klevit break down how to systematize your business for increased enterprise value, navigate post-merger integration successfully, and build a company that serves your goals rather than consuming your life.

Listen to the full episode of DealQuest Podcast with Adi Klevit: [Available on all major podcast platforms]

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dealquest-podcast-with-corey-kupfer/id1451959848

FOR MORE ON ADI KLEVIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiklevit/
Company: https://www.bizsuccesscg.com/
E-Book: https://www.successreplicator.com/

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!