Leadership Conduct Key to Business Value According to New Book
News related to:Highland Global Business Valuations · 2 min read
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Oct. 16, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Authored by Robert M. Clinger III, CVA, CBA, CMEA, the managing director of Highland Global, the book delves into the subtle yet significant ways in which leadership behavior impacts the long-term success and valuation of businesses.
Clinger, with over 25 years of experience in business valuations, has personally completed more than 10,000 valuations for a diverse range of clients, including SBA 7(a) lenders, the IRS, and privately held companies. His latest work argues that most businesses do not lose value in a single dramatic failure, but rather through a series of small, often unrecorded decisions that gradually erode their worth.
The book outlines a causal chain from leadership conduct through trust, execution, and continuity to the cost of capital and enterprise value. Clinger asserts that by the time a business is formally valued, much of the outcome has already been determined by the quality of leadership and the decisions made over time. He emphasizes that buyers discount businesses not because of the importance of the owner but because they cannot verify what will survive the owner's departure.
The book is structured into five parts, examining evidence over explanation, boundaries and professional courtesy as risk management, emotional attachment in transactions, and goodwill as a conditional asset that depends on people and continuity rather than ownership documents. Ten extended case studies, drawn from Clinger's practice and reconstructed as composites, illustrate both the negative and positive impacts of leadership conduct. These include a manufacturer whose founder's legacy attachment eroded his own exit value, and a three-person practice that earned a premium multiple through clean records and a 20-year history of stewardship.
"Experience Matters Most" is aimed at business owners, CEOs, lenders, deal professionals, and advisors. It is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon, priced at $24.99 for the paperback and $12.99 for the ebook.
Highland Global Business Valuations, known for its senior-led, intentionally small, and independent structure, continues to emphasize the importance of experience in business valuations. The firm serves SBA 7(a) lenders, business owners, and advisors nationwide, adhering to the principle that experience matters most.