Aligning Values During A Corporate Merger

When doing any M&A - are you purchasing the intellectual property or the business? Because if you're buying ANYTHING more than the intellectual property, trust is at the core of the integration. You can (maybe) integrate systems in 90 days. Integrating trust takes a whole lot longer. One of the most overlooked risks in M&A? The human one. I’ve been through multiple integrations, due diligence cycles, and post-close transitions. And I can tell you: spreadsheets may win the deal, but it's trust, communication, and culture that determine whether the value actually materializes. Circling back to one of my previous posts - it is also making sure the "say" and the "do" match - ALL the way back to the initial due diligence. Here's what often gets missed: 🔹 People interpret silence as threat - and in the absence of information will create their own story - which is often significantly worse than the truth! Communication isn't just a courtesy—it's risk mitigation. 🔹 Culture is an operating system. Every team has embedded ways of working. If you force alignment without understanding those patterns, you may inadvertently shut down what made them successful in the first place. 🔹 Integration is emotional. Titles shift. Power moves. Identities blur. Benefits change. The process isn’t just technical—it’s deeply personal. And without a strategy for that, and a proactive change plan (that is HEAVY on the communication) you’re leaving value on the table. The most successful integrations I’ve supported had three things in common: 🧩 A shared leadership narrative grounded in purpose and clarity. 🧩 Early identification of cultural hotspots—not just red flags, but areas of pride and strength. Coupled with the understanding that the acquired organization may often have things to teach the buying organization! 🧩 A deliberate, empathetic, and transparent approach to change management—because speed without humanity breeds resistance. M&A is an incredible opportunity to reset, refocus, and rebuild stronger. But only if the people inside the business believe they have a future in the new version. The real synergy? It’s not just in the balance sheet. It’s in the belief system. I'd love to hear from others—what’s something you’ve seen work (or not) when two organizations become one?

An acquisition isn’t a strategy. It’s a starting point. The deal is done. But the team? Not yet. Here’s where we see integration stall every time: 🔸️Culture is assumed, not aligned. 🔸️Middle managers are left in the dark. 🔸️The new “we” never gets defined. To get ahead of that, here are 3 steps you can take today: 1. Define 3 non-negotiable behaviors that highlight what good leadership looks like now. Get specific. Co-create these expectations across both legacy teams. 2. Spot the hidden tripwires. Culture isn’t the poster on the wall, it’s how decisions get made and who gets rewarded. Identify mismatches early, before they trigger breakdowns. 3. Equip the middle 20%. These managers carry the weight of change. Invest in their clarity and confidence now, or risk confusion later. Allison Wright and I built a culture integration tool to support this work- one that surfaces blind spots, aligns behavior, and creates shared language for what’s next. Signing the deal is the easy part. Building a unified team that performs? That’s the real integration. What’s one thing you wish someone had told you before your first M&A integration? #MergersAndAcquisitions #Leadership #IntegrationStrategy #OrganizationalEffectiveness #CultureChange #ChangeManagement #Transformation

Would you walk away from a merger if the culture fit wasn’t right? Last week at an Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC) roundtable a council member shared that they had done exactly that. This was the roundtable group's joint 8-step process to leading a successful merger: 1. Start with the why behind the merger - why are we merging in the first place? What’s the strategic vision and rationale behind it? Many decisions will flow naturally from having alignment around the why. 2. Assess cultural fit during the due diligence phase. If culture fit isn’t right, consider walking away from the deal. After all, 70% of mergers fail - in large part due to failed cultural integration. 3. Establish a core set of values, behaviors and common language that leaders from both parties can use to align teams around. 4. Appoint a dedicated business integration lead whose one and only job is to ensure alignment throughout the merger process. 5. Start at the top - a misaligned leadership team will lead to a misaligned organization in 10/10 mergers. 6. Engage middle managers thereafter. Middle managers are the ones who ultimately make or break the integration. 7. Provide a platform for fast, real-time two-way feedback loops from across all levels of the organization. 8. Adapt and optimize your execution quickly based on the real-time feedback and sentiment you receive from across the organization. Anything we missed? Last week's poll results on the topic: