Leading the Integration of an Acquisition

1. Leading Integration Karl Johnson (612) 214-4296 karlj@umn.edu June 17, 2008

2. 3 Needs of a Leader at the Defining Moment Leading Integration

3. TYPICAL EMPHASIS SUCCESSFUL EMPHASIS THREE PHASES PRE-COMBINATION FINANCIAL STRATEGIC COMBINATION POLITICAL PLANNING DAMAGE CONTROL FLEXIBILITY POST-COMBINATION Successful Emphasis

4. 3 Needs of a Leader at the Defining Moment Transition Team

5. Transition Team The Transition Team Consists of: Formalized and centralized integration management through a designated leadership team Cross-functional teams organized for each acquisition as needed to plan, manage, and monitor integration activity

6. Transition Team Define Composition of the Transition Team: Authority, ability to allocate resources in real-time as needed Engagement, cross-systems involvement Perspective, knowledge of “what’s working” from different domains

7. Transition Team Designate a Transition Leader: Identify an individual who owns the transition effort, preferably a temporary but full-timeassignment High-potential leader Inclusive, flexible, approachable

8. Transition Team First Step of the Transition Team: Craft a compelling vision for the integration supported by defined Critical Success Factors (CSFs) “Our vision for the new, integrated system is as follows….we’ll know we’ve succeeded when these CSFs…have been accomplished within this timeframe…”

9. Transition Team Second Step of the Transition Team: Based on defined CSFs, determine the composition of cross-functional teams organized to address the CSFs High-potential leaders Max-mix from across multiple systems/functions Temporary and part-time assignment

10. 3 Needs of a Leader at the Defining Moment Pre-Combination

12. Price Premium to Pay

13. Tax Implications

14. Structure Transaction

15. Combined Balance Sheet

16. Project Cash Flows

18. Testing Assumptions Prior to Negotiations

19. Technical and Operational Experts “Scouting” and Gauging “Fit”

21. Pre-Combination Senior Leaders Must Craft a Compelling Vision “In failed transformations, you often find plenty of plans, directives, and programs but no vision.” - John P. Kotter PhD, “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” Harvard Business Review, 1995 and Best of HBR, 2007

22. 3 Needs of a Leader at the Defining Moment Combination

24. Gaming

25. Personal Empire Building

26. Hiding Information

28. Clarified Critical Success Factors

29. Combination Options Discussed and Debated

31. Combination Transition Team Work Cements transition structure and cross-functional teams’ “rules of engagement” Spreads transition structure, communication, and management throughout the organization creating vertical and horizontal organizational alignment Provides a foundation for building organizational “change readiness” as needed to ease clash of cultures and promote cross-organization relations

32. Post-Combination

34. Stem Flow of Departing Talent

35. Mediate Culture Clash

36. Bolster Employee Morale

38. Strategy Understood

39. Above-board Planning ProcessPOST-COMBINATION

40. Post-Combination Transition Team Meetings Focus on the extent to which business goals of the combination are being achieved and on enhancing oversight via cross-functional relations Lead to meshing of policies and practices while building a culture by design Result in a tracking matrix to identify and measure the impact of the combination on productivity and organizational effectiveness

41. Senior Leadership Regroups teams as needed to align policies and practices Reinforces the desired culture Captures lessons from this combination to better manage future ones Post-Combination