Planning is one of those words that instantly fills people with dread, but if you want to move up the corporate food chain it’s something you will have to get good at and fast.
The age-old adage of ‘Failure to plan is planning to fail’ could never be more prevalent than when used within the M&A process.
The worst moments when working on an acquisition team are when you realise that a significant piece of work has been overlooked which could possibly blow deadlines and budget.
Everyone’s eyes around the table move as one and lock on the person in charge of that area as they utter those immortal words, “I didn’t plan for that”, whilst knowing that a few late nights at the office beckon.
I was that person once (as I imagine we all have been?) and it’s not nice but it makes you all the more determined to never let it happen again and it really shouldn’t otherwise the next thing that you will be asked to acquire is a new job.
Having completed acquisitions all over the globe, I quickly learnt it’s imperative you understand the different cultures, laws and working practices in play. For example, there are many things in the UK, such as workers’ rights, which are thoroughly different to those in near neighbours, including France and the Netherlands let alone Singapore or Brazil.
Make sure you’re aware of these and work closely with HR/Commercial: as working in different time zones can often be a cruel mistress.
You could be acquiring a product, team, service or an entire company. But from a technology point of view I always treat any acquisition process as though the whole company is being purchased.
This may sound overkill (be gentle on the feedback…) but once you have been involved in a few acquisitions, you realise the importance of not throwing up any surprises down the line.
A well-oiled and experienced acquisition team will know where to look for the possible curveballs hidden away during all M&A projects but they are only as strong collectively as their weakest link.
If there is any delay on one area of the collective process through poor planning it’s amazing how quickly you can start hearing the dominos clinking together. And none of us want to be the person the rest of the room is staring at do we?
About the Author:
Christian McMahon is Managing Partner – Board & CIO Advisory at Jamaza bvba. Christian is a commercially astute senior IT Executive and digital leader, with 20+ years of influential leadership experience in building value and revenue generating multinational IT organisations. Christian is a recognised blogger and respected expert in the IT sector with significant reach and engagement across social channels. Christian writes regular thought leadership pieces for a number of major online properties and more information from Christian can be found at his blog.
Source: http://businessvalueexchange.com/
