Ep. 115 - When Teams Collide: How to Survive a Corporate Merger
During times of massive corporate change, most people freeze and wait for the dust to settle. But the secret to surviving—and thriving—during a merger is learning how to "get inside the tent."
Welcome to another episode of The Company Doctor! With the weather turning cold and windy, Gary and George sit down for a remote "Sit and Talk" to tackle one of the most stressful experiences in the business world: a corporate merger.
This is a double-edged episode. We break down the merger playbook from both sides of the coin—the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the employees on the ground. Gary reveals the massive mistakes executives make in the immediate aftermath of a deal (hint: keeping secrets because you don't have all the answers is the fastest way to lose your best people), and how to integrate clashing leadership teams without triggering an ego war.
For employees and middle managers, Gary shares why times of change are actually the absolute best moments to fast-track your career. Learn why you must avoid becoming a "wallflower," how to politely worm your way "inside the tent," and why cringey team-building exercises are a thing of the past.
Key takeaways from this episode:
The "What it Means to Me" Filter: During any merger, every employee is thinking: "What does this mean for me?" If leadership stays quiet because they don't have all the answers, paranoia festers. Even if you can't share everything, tell your people something.
Get Inside the Tent: The worst thing you can do during a reorganization is be a passenger. Put your head above the parapet, offer to help, and get inside the workstreams. If you aren't inside the tent, no one can hear your ideas.
Design the "Embedding" First: Most mergers fail because leaders get giddy about the launch and ignore the integration. You must design how the change will be embedded from Day 1. Otherwise, people will just wait for the project team to leave and go back to their old habits.
Ditch the Trust Falls: Skip the cringey team-building exercises. To get hostile teams collaborating, focus on real relationship-building (past, present, future) over coffee, or have departments swap roles for a day to build instant empathy.
Links & references:
Gary Gamp: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garygamp
George Clode: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeclode
The Company Doctor: https://www.thecompanydoctor.com/
Highlights:
“What's the first thing you think about during times of change? ... What it means to me, right? That's the most important thing.” - 02:25 - Gary Gamp
“Even if you can't tell me stuff, tell me something. Please.” - 05:35 - Gary Gamp
“The best way to make it stick is to design embedding the change at the beginning... otherwise everyone knows that it will get aborted anyway.” - 12:00 - Gary Gamp
“The best way to be successful through a change is to be involved in it, not be a passenger. The worst thing you can do is be a passenger because then you'll be run over by it.” - 14:15 - Gary Gamp
“Get inside the tent. For God's sake, get inside the tent.” - 15:00 - Gary Gamp
“This is not your time to be a wallflower. Even if you're an introvert... be on the radar, because if you're not on the radar, even if you're really amazing, no one will know.” - 21:00 - Gary Gamp
