Starting Points

Initial decisions made in key areas

  • Guiding Principles
  • End States
  • Priorities
  • Non-Negotiables
  • Risks


Guiding Principles

Fundamental truth, belief, or behavior that serves as the foundation for decision-making

 

Principle

Description

Example

1

Accelerate

Be aggressive; drive early sales engagement and R&D work

Equip sales teams for early success

2

Act with Urgency & Transparency

Solve and elevate major issues promptly

Candor in IMO sessions; critical issues may require decisions or elevation within 24 hours

3

Engage New Talent

Warmly welcome, collaborate with and "re-recruit" our new colleagues

Strong communication and collaboration with R&D

4

Head, Heart & Hands

Inform (head), inspire (heart), and equip (hands) people, especially salespeople

Communicate with the field out of the gates; be consistent in messaging

5

Prioritize Success

Maintain value drivers as top priority

IMO team members have quarterly and annual performance objectives

6

Stay

Focused

Don’t over-engineer; focus on what's most important

Distinguish between what's truly important and what may seem urgent

7

Clarity

Roles and responsibilities and progress vs. targets are visible and understood

RACI and measurable goals (plus results vs. them) in place

8

Cadence

Stakeholders will engage at a consistent and appropriately frequent pace

Visible calendar and participation expectations for IMO, SC, and team meetings

9

Measure

Monitor progress on agreed KPIs

Distribute a dashboard regularly (e.g., weekly)

10

Capture Learnings

Recognize this as a "first" and learn from missteps

Regular "Lessons Learned" sessions

 

End State

What this integration will achieve

  • Higher sales in our chosen markets because of the new acquired technology
  • Greater opportunities for R&D to have broader impact on the enterprise
  • Higher retention of key talent with improved career paths

 

Priorities

Critical areas

  • Harmonize the approach to sales success across regions
  • Set clear expectations for product and pull-through revenues
  • Create a means for measuring these revenues
  • Quickly establish end states for all work streams (at a detailed level, e.g., product branding)

 

Non-Negotiables

The things that "must be

  • A progress review with the Steering Committee will take place at least once per month
  • We will measure results vs. targets (including synergies)
  • SC/IMO will soon agree upon "desired state" for various times, e.g., 100 days, 6 months, 1 year
  • The desired state for various time points will yield plans with specific objectives and activities, ones that extend even to Year 2

 

Risks

What "may go wrong" and where mitigation plans should be developed

  • The external market takes a downturn
  • Multiple members of the research development team depart in year 1
  • Integration interrupts business continuity

 

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