PrimeGenesis Blog
Leading An Acquisition Integration? Be ‘Brave’
We know that 83% of mergers fail. We keep doing them because the upside to success is so huge. That success comes only when the vision, values and integration are right. While the CEO must own the vision and values, having a separate integration process leader reduces risk and accelerates progress. You can best lead that integration with a BRAVE outside-in approach:
Environment – Understand the context and type of integration you’re leading.
Values – Clarify what matters and why to the CEO and other key stakeholders.
Attitude – Make choices around strategy, culture, organization, operations, and your own role over time.
Relationships – Build mutual trust and confidence with the top leadership team, the integration team, and the combined organization’s future leadership.
Behaviors – Accelerate to future capabilities.
Applying General David Petraeus’ Lessons From Afghanistan To Your Business
General David Petraeus has a unique insight into America’s mistakes in Afghanistan. It turns out his five key lessons can help you avoid similar mistakes in your business if you:
Fill gaps before someone else does.
Turn thinking into action with practical impact.
Leverage unequal strengths to lead.
Stand for something, not just against things.
Lead through the short-term for the long-term.
How Best To Engage Remote Attendees In Blended Remote/In-Person Meetings
When a meeting is predominantly in-person, those joining remotely inevitably miss some of the conversation in the room – especially when more than one person is speaking at the same time. (Which, of course, never happens in any of your meetings.) And they miss all the side conversations during the meeting and during breaks. It’s physically impossible for them to get as much out of meetings as do those in-person.
Conversely, if the meeting is predominantly remote, the remote people each have their own screen and camera, while the in-person people share them. Those attending in-person have to fight with the other people in the room for air time.
This suggests first prize is to have everyone in-person. Second prize is to have everyone remote. This means the people actually in the office should still each join as they would remotely. There is no third prize. Blended meetings are doomed to fail.
Note connecting two live meetings does work, as all are on equal footings:
Why The Leader As Cheerleader Is So Hard And So Important
Ever notice how great pep talks all have the same message? In one way or another, they all say, “Believe in yourselves.” It’s straight out of Virgil’s “They can because they think they can.” Great leaders own the vision and values – why. They lead strategic thinking around where to play and how to win. Then, they delegate tactical thinking to their tactical leaders to figure out how. Finally, they assume a cheer-leading role at points of commitment and action, because confidence is the key to actors’ success from then on.
How To Inspire, Enable And Empower Tactical Leaders
Strategy. Then tactics. Remember that. And remember the key parts of it:
1. Strategy precedes tactics, inspiring tactical leaders.
2. Strategy directs tactics, enabling tactical leaders.
3. Strategy gets out of the way, empowering tactical leaders.
The Golden Globe For Most Effective Reorganization Goes To…
Coming out of COVID companies split into the good, the great and the gone.
The good, like Delta Airlines, are delivering their basic services in an acceptable manner.
The great, like the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, are flooding the zone with extra service personnel to anticipate and react to customer needs.
The gone, like the HFPA and Hertz, have lost track of the needs and interests of their constituents and have either cultures or systems or both that embarrass or inconvenience those constituents. They don’t need to reorganize. They need to go away.
Why ‘Thank You’ Beats ‘Yes’ In Strategic Selling
On the one hand, it looks like everything is stacked against her. Almost any set of assumptions plugged into our onboarding risk calculator suggests she should run, not walk away from this situation. But she’s not going to fail for one simple reason. Exxon’s board and management team cannot let her fail as it works to fend off activist investor Engine No. 1.
Why Exxon’s New CFO Should Fail, But Won’t
On the one hand, it looks like everything is stacked against her. Almost any set of assumptions plugged into our onboarding risk calculator suggests she should run, not walk away from this situation. But she’s not going to fail for one simple reason. Exxon’s board and management team cannot let her fail as it works to fend off activist investor Engine No. 1.
When To Inform In Advance Versus Report After The Fact
The critical difference between “inform” and “report” is timing. Informing happens before and reporting happens after.
When To Use The Three Different Ways To Fire Employees
Example-making is the most aggressive approach, utilized to send a message to others.
Quick and clean works with aa contained, neutral message.
Face-saving occurs by letting the separation be their idea.