Reflection on “Merge with Caution by Alderton, November 2013”

The article “Merge with Caution” discussed the merge process and the challenges that managers face during the mergers and what factors need to be considered in order to ensure a successful merge. Organizations need to take a deep look into the portfolio, trying to understand if the new firm has the right mixes of projects; a project that may have been aligned to the strategic vision at one of the companies may be found way out of the new organization’s goals.

The article also suggested four tips to ensure a successful organizational merge. First, establishing centralized leadership; organizations need to consider forming an enterprise PMO to lead and control the integration process, where this PMO direct the two companies to which projects to continue, postpone or cancel. However, it is crucial to have representation from both firms of the merger to treat all lines of business in objective way. Second, defining strategic priorities; the top management has to establish a new strategic objective, and only then they can pick the projects that will help the merge achieve those strategic goals.

Sometimes project teams can get off track, and so they need to be reminded that this top-down process is placed to build one new organization, and not improve the old organizations. Third, take inventory; the inventory does simply list all projects underway and the resources deployed as soon as the strategic priorities are set; however, the new organization have to take a deeper dive to make the right decision on what projects should continue, or being canceled. Among the important decision points at this phase are the strategic alignment, project type, project timeline, project status.

Finally, reallocating resources; the human resources need to be assessed in the new strategic priorities, so those practitioners should be there in the post-merger integration as early as possible to be able to answer important questions like; Are there project resources to fill our gaps?, Who are the key-staff we want to retain?, etc. Additionally, both sides of the merge have to be involved in integration planning and execution, in order to get a real feel for project management capabilities and skill sets, knowing that there has to be time to assess and monitor the process as people go through that change.

Some of the lessons learned from this article are in order to survive a merge, the top management has to make sure to embrace change, to be flexible, and of course to be part of the deal. Project managers are also recommended to be very open and very honest with their team members regarding the projects during and after the merge; they need to make decisions and communicate them clearly to everyone. Finally, projects that doing well need to be looked at to ensure that they can still be aligned given the integration work by guarding these projects all the way to the finish line.

Personally, I was involved of a merge process in 2017 between two companies that sell phone accessories and both of them are located in Columbus Ohio. However, the merge did not survive; the two companies had so much difference when it comes to the organizational culture, both of them had no flexibility, and so it was really hard to see them work as a team. Merging is a very challenging process to have, and it could be the hardest process out there to be successfully implemented. However, the two companies agreed to another solution, one of the companies became the main supplier for the other company, and a coordination office was opened at the main supplier’s warehouse to organize the transaction between the two firms; many would consider that a strategic alliance. Both companies kept their old management, and decided to improve their internal processes and asking each other for advice, and it has been working well for the companies for the past year.