A Checklist for Mergers . . . and Marriages

Mergers and marriages aren’t identical, but there are certainly some similarities.  First, they both have approximately the same failure rate . . . about 50%. Second, people often enter into these relationships without knowing some very important things about each other. Third, the courtship period is often a lot more fun than the reality of living together.   

We’ll leave the marriage counseling to Dr. Phil. But, when it comes to merger consulting, we think the following questions are worth consideration. Before making the trip to the altar, give some airtime to these ten due diligence issues.

1. Who are they . . . really? Do your homework on your potential partner. Sure, they look attractive now, but how will they look in the morning . . . or twenty years from now? What annoying little habits do they have that may begin to grate on your nerves? What personality traits do they have that will be extremely difficult to change . . . and even harder to live with?
    
2. What are their strengths, dreams, and ambitions? What do you love most about them? How can you play to those strengths? How do you make each other better, stronger, wiser, richer, and/or happier? What’s truly important to them? What are they willing to make sacrifices for? What do they want and need to be happy?
    
3. Are they ready, willing, and able to change? What do they expect to have to change about themselves to accommodate you? What are they unwilling to change under any circumstances? What are you assuming you’ll be able to change about them? What are they assuming they’ll be able to change about you?
    
4. What are their core values and assumptions? What deeply held beliefs do they hold? Do they assume you share the same core values? What do those core values and beliefs look like behaviorally?
    
5. How do they manage their finances? Are they frugal or extravagant? What kinds of things do they spend money on? Are they bringing significant debts into the marriage for which . . .