As 2015 comes to a close it’s reported that M&A activity reached record levels, topping the previous record in 2007 by several hundred million dollars. Source: MarketWatch
At first blush, this feels good. However, when digging a little deeper, getting the deal done is the first half of the story, successfully integrating two businesses is the second and vital half. In fact, according to the book The M&A Paradox: Factors of Success and Failure in Mergers and Acquisitions by Yaakov Weber, Christina Oberg, and Shlomo Tarba:
Many research studies conducted over the decades clearly show that the rate of failures is at least 50 percent. In surveys conducted in recent years, the percentage of companies that failed to achieve the goals of the merger reached 83 percent. The primary reasons for failures is related to the fact that it is easy to buy but hard to perform an M&A. In general, many mergers and acquisitions are characterized by the lack of planning, limited synergies, differences in the management/organizational/international culture, negotiation mistakes, and difficulties in the implementation of the strategy following the choice of an incorrect integration approach on the part of the merging organizations after the agreement is signed.*
When integrating beyond the numbers, leadership becomes critical and it’s in this area many managers find themselves with some blind spots.
WashU’s Executive MBA curriculum provides an answer. Throughout the 20-month curriculum, students stretch and ultimately learn to see beyond what’s always been. Leadership Residency, a hallmark of the program, takes peer feedback to a whole new level and leaders emerge in powerful ways that many students have a hard time finding words to describe. The program helps professionals identify and eliminate ‘blind spots’ in business, and become systems thinkers—the connective tissue of any enterprise—with the courage to tear down organizational silos. And that’s critical in a successful integration of a merger/acquisition as well as in business and leadership in general.
Business without blind spots, an essential for aspiring leaders.
