The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan, 5th Edition

CHAPTER 12Lead Through Mergers and Acquisitions

Those leading through a merger, acquisition, or the like do so to accelerate value creation. They look for revenues to double or more on the way to returning many multiples of their initial investments. Maybe you're driving or leading the investment. Maybe you're leading the business itself or playing a supporting role. In any case, you need a leadership playbook for the merger or acquisition.

This chapter describes the 14 steps we've used as investors, leaders, and supporters. Our overarching approach is to work through customers, people, and costs—in that order. First, figure out how you're going to win with customers. Then build the leadership and team required for that. Fund those efforts with your cost‐cutting.

This is how we've created value faster against a backdrop of others failing to deliver the desired results 83 percent of the time. In a Harvard Business Review article, Kenny Graham noted that “between 70 and 90 percent of acquisitions fail”¹ and a KPMG M&A study found that 17 percent of deals added value while 30 percent produced no discernible difference and 53 percent destroyed value.²

The Steps

1. Start with the investment case—the heart of your playbook.

   Be clear on what you want out of an acquisition or merger, how it would fit with what you've already got, and what you're willing to give up to get it. Then broaden your perspective to look at different possibilities before narrowing on the few best candidates ...