Step 6: Develop M&A Culture Integration Plans

You can’t keep everyone happy when it comes to creating a culture integration plan and integrating cultures after a merger. So, here’s the deal. Don’t get scattered trying to address all the cultural preference items people make noise about. And don’t tiptoe around the delicate culture issues if they’re crucial and need to be hit head-on. Focus sharply on what’s mission critical.

Ordinarily, when merging organizational cultures, only about 5 percent of the cultural issues truly qualify as mission critical. What does that mean? This small handful of traits accounts for about 95 percent of culture’s influence on operating performance. These are the “vital few” that should be the focus of your M&A integration culture plan.

In this section, we provide books and articles that explain which culture traits are mission critical and how to best merge cultures after acquisitions. Plus, we reveal our research on current practices in M&A culture integration and what acquirers need to do differently to successfully integrate cultures.

Answers to Culture FAQ's

M&A Culture Integration

Cultural Integration Research

M&A Culture Presentations

Corporate Culture Books

Answers to Culture FAQ's

Answers to FAQs about Merging Cultures After an Acquisition

Answers to FAQs about Merging Cultures After an Acquisition

Answers questions including:

  • How do you begin merging cultures after an acquisition or merger?
  • What is organizational culture? And what is cultural integration in M&A?
  • Why do so many M&A culture change initiatives fail?
  • Where should culture change initiatives be focused. . .

M&A Culture Integration

Most Companies Integrate Without a Culture Integration Plan

Most Companies Integrate Without a Culture Integration Plan

What if—as an individual—your genetic code suddenly changed by, say, 20 percent? How different a person would you be?

If the change happened overnight, would you even recognize yourself the next morning? What would it feel like? How would you behave?

That’s what happens when, for example, a 4,000-person company acquires and integrates a 1,000-person firm ...
The "Best of Both" Strategy for Merging Organizational Cultures

The "Best of Both" Strategy for Merging Organizational Cultures

The “best of both worlds” strategy for integrating cultures brings traumatic destabilization to both organizations ... 
Merging Cultures After An Acquisition

Merging Cultures After an Acquisition

Mergers very often are such a destabilizing event, and have such a powerful impact, that they “break the organizational box,” so to speak. Frequently there is a window of opportunity that develops during which management can do some very profound things in terms of reshaping the corporate culture … 
 
Rx for M&A Culture Integration

Rx for M&A Culture Integration

Nothing in the realm of M&A gets botched up so consistently as the blending of two companies’ corporate cultures ...

 
Strategy Culture Disconnection

The Strategy-Culture Disconnection

There's an insidious threat facing organizations that is growing rapidly via M&A:  A loss of alignment between corporate strategy and the existing culture.

If these two fall out of sync, you’ve got a real dilemma on your hands …
Acquisition Integration: When Big Guys Buy Small Fries

Acquisition Integration When Big Guys Buy Small Fries

The integration of a small, well-run company often requires a light touch strategy. In those situations, follow these 10 rules to achieve the best results: … 
 
Don't Be Surprised When Culture Counterattacks

Don't Be Surprised When Culture Counterattacks

As far as corporate culture is concerned, “change” is the dirtiest word in the dictionary.

It’s culture’s nature to believe deeply in itself, and it shows absolutely no sense of humor when people attempt to redesign it …
 

Cultural Integration Research

Cultural Integration: The "X Factor" in Merger Success and Failure

Cultural Integration: The "X Factor" in Merger Success and Failure

Organizations have grown far more sophisticated and skilled in their ability to execute the integration process. The one area where companies still struggle, though, is in merging disparate cultures. This is the black box of integration, the most complex problem that executives encounter in M&A ...

M&A Culture Presentations

Organizational Culture and Mergers: The Hard Facts

Organizational Culture and Mergers: The Hard Facts

Hard Facts About Culture

  • Strategy is a product of your view of the future.
  • Culture is essentially the product of your history
  • That will always present a challenge in ensuring that the corporate culture is aligned with and supports your plans for tomorrow.
  • VERY FEW culture characteristics wield a make-or-break influence …
Post-Merger Integration Culture

Post-Merger Integration Culture

Content

Several Ways to Address Cultural Issues
Four Possible Scenarios for Culture Integration
Advantages to Each Approach
Why Are Post-Merger Cultural Issues Difficult to Manage
Consequences of Culture Conflict
Culture Differences Can Cause Integration Failure
3 Important Drivers of Cultural Issues. . .
Cultural Differences in Mergers and Acquisitions

Cultural Differences in Mergers and Acquisitions

The cultural differences between the Acquirer and Acquired Company are identified.

Content

  • Reality
  • How You Described Yourself
  • Cultural Traits...

Corporate Culture Books