Welcome to Hello Operator!

Paul @ Hello OperatorNov 4, 2026

Nice to meet you.

I’m Paul. I’m an Operating Partner at a small PE fund in Chicago.

A few years ago, I started writing about my work with our portfolio companies and sharing more of the thinking, frameworks, and philosophy I use on the job.

Since then, I’ve published more than 100 short essays, playbooks, podcasts, and videos on all the stuff that seems to work best for me, our businesses, and their people.

Here’s a few “best of” examples to get you started:

My World of Software Private Equity

What Does An Operating Partner Do? Unpacking what it takes to do the weirdest job I've ever loved.

Let’s Get Real About Value Creation: My thoughts on the classic idea of value-creation - and how our “it depends” approach to partnering with our portfolio companies actually works.

What Kills Companies? A fun rant on the biggest threat to your business - and what seems to be true about every team that can't seem to get it together.

Becoming More Data-Driven

What Data-Driven Leaders Do Differently: My best writing on how to harness the power in your data and use it to make your business better.

Building Better Sales and Marketing Teams

Why Sales Sucks: The three problems holding your sales team back (and giving a great career a bad name).

Leading Change and Communicating Better

The Chief Reminding Officer: How to make things stick by mastering the art of constant, gentle pressure.

Thinking Strategically

How to Be Strategic: Anyone ever told you that you need to "think more strategically?" Ever wondered what that actually means? This is the framework you've been looking for.

Building Your Career

How To Make a Career Decision: The three tests to use the next time you're thinking about what's next in your professional life.

Thanks for reading, and if something in here resonates, sticks out, or you’re just curious about how you can apply what I write about, please drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

-Paul