Actually, there are at least a dozen ways to sabotage an
acquisition, but for the sake of brevity, and to stay
focused on the areas in which I can speak from the most
experience, let's explore five of them:
1. Grossly underestimating what it will take to integrate
people, processes, and systems. I've seen few successful
acquisitions of any size without a dedicated integration
team. At a minimum, you need full-time, dedicated
resources in IT, integration of different business models
and processes, facilities, and change management, by which
I mean how to get all of the people moving in the same
direction, not the processing of change orders related to
the acquisition process.
2. Moving too slowly to reorganize the company. Some
people are going to lose their jobs. Better sooner than
later. That's not as cold as it sounds. When you prolong
confusing, duplicate, and overlapping roles, you increase
cynicism, frustration, and the fear that the acquiring
organization's leaders are inept, indecisive bureaucrats.
This is often the most painful step for executives and
managers alike, but it's better to move quickly than to
keep confusion and fear hanging over everyone's heads. I
particularly like the effectiveness of a reorganization
that takes weeks, not months. It's so painful and
exhausting for everyone involved (even me, and I'm just the
outside consultant), but the results are worth it.
3. Viewing "acquisition communication" as the stuff you
announce to people about the acquisition. Depending on its
size, an acquisition can be a small change or an enormous
one. The tendency is to make announcements and think
you're communicating. The most successful large-scale
changes involve a two-way process, and it's given the
respect it deserves by being somewhat formalized and
measured for its contribution to the success of the change.
It's certainly a lot more than saying to your managers,"
So, how are your people doing? Be sure everyone announces
the latest news at your next staff meeting."
4. Putting lipstick on a pig and telling people it's
beautiful. Do not put a positive spin on obviously
negative developments. Be honest, and share your plan to
address the issues, or at least your timeline for pulling a
plan together. Your people are living day-to-day with the
consequences of these negative developments. They're
probably even the ones who brought the problems to your
attention. You will kill your credibility, particularly
among the employees of the acquired organization, who have
no relationship with you, and therefore no particular
reason to trust you in the first place.
5. And from deep in our unconscious selves...Telling the
employees of the acquired company how lucky they are now
that they are part of your company. Of course, these days
no one is so crass as to literally say this out loud, but
the fact that we don't say it out loud in no way addresses
the fact that we feel it, if that's what we feel.
Attitudes and emotions leak out all over the place. But
reverse this attitude quickly, because if the undertone set
by the acquiring company's leadership is in any way
superior, the employees of the acquired company will pick
it up, along with their bags, as they head toward to door
to your competitor. You'll also lose out on all you could
have learned from the employees who stay, because you're
demeaning their knowledge, skills, and expertise. I recall
the time I found myself sitting in the regional sales
office of an acquiring company. When the SVP of Sales
announced the acquisition of a close competitor, the sales
team cheered and yelled, "We win!" At that moment, let's
just say I knew I had my work cut out for me. The
acquisition turned out to be a stunning success, in part
because the SVP had the good sense to say, "Cut it out, you
guys. Each of these people is part of our team now. We're
all in it together and frankly, I've seen their numbers and
they're every bit as good as you are."
----------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Selby Long, Founder and Principal of Selby Group,
provides executive coaching and organizational development
services. Jennifer's knack is helping clients navigate the
leadership and organizational challenges triggered by
change and growth. She knows firsthand that great plans
often fail because companies don't take into account the
human factors that come into play when implementing them.
Visit Jennifer at: http://selbygroup.com
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