How do you make a great acquisition? I think in terms of these things: The idea that you will be able to fix a broken company just by acquiring it is a vain one, and you’ll have a low probability of succeeding. A company that is “incomplete” - whether due to a management failure, a crisis or simply not having had enough time to find its way to maturity - might be acquirable at a bargain price but it won’t suddenly become whole. Culture is a little like Humpty Dumpty: when you have a great one, it’s really important not to break it.īeware the “incomplete.” Another way to fail is to look for a company that “needs” something. If you imagine combining those lists, it’s easy to see how the culture can fall apart following an acquisition with synergistic drivers. And even if key values at two great companies appear to be similar, they may differ substantially in application. These are considered important enough that they are heavily weighted in reviews and recruiting, and they are practiced intentionally by executives. It’s critical to realize that a great company is a living organism it has a culture that is driven by a consistent set of values, often articulated as guiding principles. This never works as well as imagined.ĭon’t break it. Unfortunately, this perspective presumes that the elements and people in the companies can be combined as readily as the rows in a spreadsheet. On a spreadsheet, you might convince yourself that this will enable the sales forces of the two companies to be combined and streamlined, producing a large cost savings with no loss of sales. Other times, it can be easy to think the numbers are the story - such as a large customer overlap. These notions are often vague, like “our product range and their distribution channels.” Vague ideas are guaranteed not to live up to expectations.

When contemplating an acquisition, it can be easy to imagine synergies.

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