Most acquisitions fail, and fail after they have been successful.
The "successful" moment is often seen as the closing of the transaction.
Much work has gone in the years or months ahead of that event. Yet, it is the "after closing" which determines the true measure of success.
Indeed, corporate acquisitions are usually calculated, planned, and valued on financial metrics, market share positions which are quantifiable variables.
The financial models developed to justify them rely on business assumptions (customers wins, product roadmap, synergies) which, in fine, ALL rely on the human factor.
- How will the sales people of the merged entity perform, if the morale is low, and culture clash develops between the two companies DNAs?
- How will the engineers develop the best software if 30% of their colleagues are gone?
- How will doubt in the new management of the combined entity erode the "emotive engine" and subconscious of the organization?
None of those variables are looked at well prior to the transaction closing, because they belong to the HEART of the matter, and are not quantifiable.
If they had been, the Board of Directors of Publicis and Omnicom would have never publicized their planned merger, knowing that the egos of their two corporate chief executives would have clashed, as none wanted to reliquinsh the top job.
For the willing organizations, and the executive teams and Boards of the acquiror or acquired company, I create a safe space where to discuss those matters.
I can also develop a set of work sessions where various team members of both parties, before and after the transaction, can verbalize the untold side of the transaction, to make sure it comes out of the shadows and can be addressed openly.