May 2026 feels different.
After two years of constrained exits and valuation resets, the market is shifting from hesitation to measured reactivation. Simultaneously, AI is forcing organizations to confront a brutal truth: most of what we’ve historically sold is rapidly becoming worthless.
I’ve been reviewing the latest 2026 Private Equity Harvest Report alongside macro boardroom data. Taken together, they reveal the exact conversations happening behind closed doors.
Here are the 3 issues stopping C-suites and BOD members in their tracks:
1. The PE liquidity backlog is now a strategic variable
Median holding periods sit at 5.4 years (with Healthcare approaching 5.9). Boards are no longer asking if this wave of trapped capital will hit—they’re asking how it will reshape M&A pipelines and competitive dynamics in the next 18 months. Continuation vehicles and secondary buyouts are gaining real traction.
2. AI just redrew the line between Worthless and Priceless
Transactional value—data, generic content, basic access—is being commoditized at unprecedented speed. What remains defensible? Trust, genuine community, and peer-to-peer judgment. Boards are actively stress-testing their entire core value proposition against this shift.
3. Decision latency is a fatal competitive disadvantage
When authority is unclear, brilliant teams slow down and politics fill the gaps. The highest-performing boards are installing strict Delegation of Authority frameworks—simple thresholds for spending, partnerships, and risk—paired with a strict "one-voice" rule post-debate. The result: faster decisions, less drama.
These aren’t theoretical trends. They are the live wires running through strategy offsites this quarter.
Which of these three is already showing up—explicitly or implicitly—in your boardroom?
The Korean version is a translation of the original.
View the original on LinkedIn ↗