In M&A it is crucial to avoid damaging the value of the deal. You must therefore take time to plan and build your processes. My experience has shown that the most prevalent issues are about people – how they react to changes as well as their resistance to it, and how they react when something doesn’t work as expected.
One of the key things we do for our clients is to help them set an approach that allows them to spot possible issues early and then respond quickly. This could be, for example, having weekly meetings during which the IMO and functional work streams review progress against the plan and escalate risks and issues to the SteerCo.
Once the method of addressing issues is established, it’s crucial to concentrate on implementing. It is crucial to ensure that everyone in the team knows what they are expected to do and how they’ll be evaluated and when. It also includes clearly defining accountability (i.e. ownership of the final results) and the decision-making authority for the entire business.
It is vital to ensure that the CEO and senior management can spend at least 90 percent of their time on core business concerns and not get distracted by integration activities. A great way to do this is to select an experienced leader to oversee the Decision Management Office (IMO) who will be able to triage decisions and oversee the work flow. This person could be from the acquiring company or be a rising star in the newly formed organization with the support of their boss.
