We See What You're Saying™
O B S E R A T I O N S : Why Most Mergers and Acquisitions Fail to Deliver
A classic study by the Wall Street Journal suggests that a significant percentage of corporate mergers and acquisitions fail to deliver on expectations. The caveat here is the word EXPECTATIONS. The unspoken question is, Whose expectations? The answer? Almost everyone’s.
Mergers and acquisitions carry with them an implied promise of lowering the costs of doing business, thus assuring the success of the merging. However, success is not a by-product of cost management. Numbers alone are doomed to disappoint, because it’s almost impossible to save one’s way to success.
Mergers fail to deliver on expectations because they do too little to integrate the cultures of the different organizations being brought together. Identifying the cultural principles shared by the merging entities can unite even the most bitter of rivals.
Applying the process of Cultural Branding™ will identify those values, traits and artifacts that are shared by those merging, even as early as the due diligence phase of acquisition. And, by creating communication initiatives and devices that move seemingly intractable competitors toward one another, mergers can result in a well-integrated team of players all focused on achieving the same objectives.
Former competitors, now colleagues, will soon come to appreciate one another and recognize that they can achieve their shared goals and objectives by cooperation and collaboration.
We’ve had a great deal of success helping diverse organizations focus their efforts toward achieving specific communication goals.