At least, that’s what Hans Schenk, professor of economy at the University of Utrecht says. He has done extensive research into ‘mergers & acquisitions’ and analyzed 25,000 mergers for this. His conclusion was that 15 percent of them succeed, 15 percent are a disaster and 70 percent ‘just’ fail.
I am at the beginning of a challenging new project: to assist in the merger process between two creative companies with more differences than similarities. (And this is good, because personally, I find differences far more interesting than ‘safe’ similarities). In order to prepare myself, I thought I’d do some ‘merger research’. That is when I came upon the alarming 85% failures. Fortunately, I am a positive thinker, so I am going to assume that this merger will belong to the other 15%.
Just to be sure, I did pick up some tips & tricks from the Internet:
1. Involve all employees from day one – check: that is something I’ve believed in since I was in my 20s
2. Express mutual expectations – check
3. Ensure that the owners get along – check
4. Be realistic about the business case – check
5. A nice extra tip: ensure there are more women in management – check
The University of British Columbia conducted research into the relationship between having women in top management positions and the success of mergers. What they found was that having women in top management helps decrease financial risks. And apparently, women contribute to the greater chance of success of a merger. Great; that’s no problem.
For the second time in one year, I was invited to participate in the development of a creative company. It is, I think, therefore no coincidence that Ricardo Semler happens to be in the Netherlands just this month. I am a big fan and immediately bought a ticket to hear his story in person. Semler is that Brazilian from Semco; a very successful enterprise where people can create their own work schedules according to their own biorhythm, take a power nap in a hammock during the day, choose their own bosses and determine their own salaries and vacation days. (He started this 30 years ago.)
Semco’s values are: trust, openness and love.
He says: “The trick is to let go of control and to replace that with ‘trust’ and with ‘working together’. This is not easy. From a young age everyone has been brought up with discipline. People are used to following rules: in families, at school and at work. People are taught to arrive at certain times to carry out certain tasks. But, it is human nature to want to carry out tasks at those moments that feel best for us. This brings far better results than doing them, for example, between nine and five.
It sounds easy, but it isn’t. People easily feel guilty. If the work is done for the time being, no one will just go to a sidewalk cafe to relax and enjoy a drink. I say: let people find their own ways to do their work in the best way possible. During the past number of years, Semco has shown that this works.” This is what Ricardo Semler says.
Tip 1 was: involve all employees from day one. I am very curious to find out how my 25 colleagues will see this. I am already looking forward to the dialogue.
More about Ricardo Semler:
Book a ticket for 24 June here. There are still some available.
Watch the famous 90-minute VPRO documentary on Youtube.
Or read his bestseller: The Seven-Day-Weekend.
