The Merger Whisperer

Here’s the story…

Not long ago I was chatting with the guy seated next to me on a plane from New York headed back to Dallas.  He asked me what line of work I was in.  So I gave him a brief rundown explaining that we advise companies on how to design and execute an effective merger integration strategy.

After a couple more questions, he grinned and said, “I get it.  You’re a ‘merger whisperer.’”

I must have had a blank look on my face.  He said, “You know, like Cesar Millan!  But instead of dealing with difficult dogs, you’re taking on the toughest part of M&A.”

He was proud of his analogy, and I agreed that there is a unique psychology to mergers.  The biggest problems, by far, are caused by human nature.  I told him, “Merger integration would be so much easier if people weren’t involved!”

The guy pointed out that if such were the case, I’d have to find another job.  Lucky me—the people are always there, acting like humans.  Never fails.

The moral to this story?  If you do a good job of managing the integration headaches caused by homo sapiens, you can be a merger ace.