I will close with a few general thoughts for Leader on M&A.
To many leaders discounts the value of a robust process instead relying on lawyers and accountants only. Also, leadership can think everyone on both sides of the deal understands the deal the way they do. NOT TRUE.
The first thing I tell a leader is: ‘DON’T SAY NOTHING WILL CHANGE’. Everyone in both companies know it’s not true.
Don’t do an M&A to fix a problem within your organization
Don’t shortage the length of time to fully integrate
Speed and focus in integration should be the primary driver.
People are always seen as the unknown factor in the deal. A common misnomer is “people don’t like change”. WRONG! what they don’t like is operating in a vacuum.
Leaders make decisions on personnel changes in two detrimental ways, cutting costs or too slow. Both send the wrong message.
Don’t kill a deal because of cultural differences. If it makes good business sense an effective process with the correct people can deal with this issue.
If you are going to invest the time and money in an M&A do it with an effective robust process to achieve the maximum ROI on your investment.
My next blog will be on reward systems, The Good The Bad and The Ugly. When I have experienced these programs very few achieved their intended outcomes and in too many cases and in some brought about negative outcomes. So, the questions are: Are they worthless, how do I evaluate the cost benefit of a program? How do I know if they are working? How can I tell on the front end if they won’t work? What should I be aware of using a ‘professional’ to design a program?