I read a thought provoking article by Pip Hulbert in Management Today.

“Silo-busting – The secrets to a successful merger” awakened memories of mergers and acquisitions I have been in involved in, as both acquirer and “acquiree”.

It also made me realise that there is a lot in common between a company merger and the shift to integrated “end to end” process thinking in a company.

The barriers to both successful mergers and successful “end to end process” integration are not primarily technical, financial, logistical or functional . . .

They are human.

• The magic is in the nurturing and development a collective commitment to a new “WHY”.
• A focus on genuine business outcomes that everyone can be equally proud of.
• The business value that accrues from truly cross functional teamwork in the pursuit of a common goal.
• The realisation that we are all “better together”, that there is little fulfilment in trying to prove that our own “silo” is performing well, even at the expense of others.

What Pip describes is right on the money.

Think of the union as a “birth” not “marriage”, she suggests . . . 

Try reading these few quotes from Pip’s article, twice. Once, thinking about merging companies, and again, thinking about the truly “end to end” processes or value streams in your company.

• “We know when it makes sense on paper – the numbers align and the path to growth is clear. But the success is really determined by this consistent celebration of the union of culture and innovation, the transformation of everyday processes, and the connections between newly formed teams. It is because of these that a new life can begin.”
• “It’s also important to be consistent in how you talk about the new business. Use the new language frequently so that it disseminates throughout the cultural lexicon. And when you feel like you’ve beaten the drum too much, err on the side of thinking that we can say this one more time, rather than that people are getting bored. Building a sense of identity requires repetition.”
• “By forming connections at pace, and encouraging rapid collaboration, more opportunities open up across the company. Whether that’s connecting departments, learning about your business’s capabilities  . . .  or simply introducing yourself to someone you’ve never worked alongside before, it is crucial to ensure these important connections are prioritised and materialise quickly.”

I don’t know if this resonates with you as much as it does with me, but I had never before considered that the crucial skills for creating a successful union between organisations are the same as those to create a successful union between the various “upstream” and “downstream” elements of your enterprise “end to end” processes.

Crucially, both require winning “hearts and minds” across the organization, not just with leadership and senior stakeholders.

Like a fire, it needs to start with the spark.

Look for the people who are the sparks . . . 

Pip is CEO of  VML UK, itself the result of a merger between Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R. You can read her article “Silo-busting – The secrets to a successful merger” here . . .  

Thanks for reading . . .