How Acquisitions Are Like Christmas Dinners
Yes, a Christmas themed post in May. I know. Zealoop is worse than Macy’s putting out their trees and ornaments in September. However, rest assured that this is not an attempt to prematurely get you to buy things you don’t need. Instead, our reasoning for a Christmas theme is in how Christmas Dinners can be likened to business acquisitions. And yes, we know, it’s a stretch – but bear with us! Have a conversation with your creepy Uncle Kevin. Like an opinion, everyone has one. Uncle Kevin is the distant relative in the family who has a 70’s moustache and enjoys dad jokes a bit too much. Your initial reaction is to keep away at all costs. But Uncle Kevin is from a different time, a different culture. For this reason, it is important not to discredit him. Talking to Kevin and learning from his wealth of unique experiences may actually somewhat benefit your life, and allow you to realize that he is actually not so creepy after all. The same goes for acquisitions. Acquisitions can bring two distinct company cultures together. Its not that one culture is necessarily better than the other, they are just different. It is therefore important to legitimize conversation about culture between companies so that a mutual cultural understanding is established. This will prevent initial negative stereotyping, and promote post-acquisition harmoniousness. If someone makes a dish you like, ask for the recipe! Your grandmother’s Christmas cobbler is heaven. Half way through your third slice you have already convinced yourself that selling this stuff would enable you to retire early. You have the business skills; you just need that darn recipe! Luckily, you are family, and she happily obliges. When a company acquires another, two pools of core competencies are joined. In synergy, these competencies could produce efficiencies that bolster the company’s bottom line. After all, the acquisition happened for a reason. It just may be up to you as an employee to navigate the inner workings of the other company, collaborate with its employees and discover what complementary competencies can be leveraged to the organization’s benefit. Give, and you shall receive. As a kid, the social frustrations of the Christmas Dinner were well worth it so long as there were presents waiting for you at the end of it. Without a steady income, you did a whole lot of receiving, but not that much giving. Luckily you are an adult now, and can enjoy both sides of the equation! But how would you feel now if someone gave you a gift, and you had nothing to give in return? To make the most of an acquisition, it is important that there is a reciprocal exchange of effort. The most challenging period will be post-acquisition, as there are a number of cultural, operational and strategic differences to be assimilated. If this is not done, the acquisition has a large chance of failing. Managers must therefore collaborate to ensure that the right information is being given and received from the outset.
The preceding blogpost is extracted from a part of a project I did on an imaginary tech company called "Zealoop". As the story went, the brand had recently acquired a new tech company, and this post was a way of light-heartedly enthusing employees on either side about the process.
