Issue 04: managing the energy in M&As
Jul 14th
All creatures respond with a surge of energy to a threat or an opportunity; a change of ownership represents both. Take the practical steps to ensure this organisational energy helps unlock the potential of your new business. Issue 04 includes client stories from Diageo and the manufacturing sector, and includes chapters on understanding energy as an asset, plotting the energy curve and releasing energy.
Issue 04: managing the energy in M&As
“During a merger, the organisation becomes jittery, off balance, destabilised. People are hyper-alert and primed for change”, says a CEO. “This destabilisation powerfully increases the energy levels; but unless that energy is productively channelled it becomes a destructive force that sabotages the merger.”
Energy in M&As and LBOs: the most valuable asset of all
All living creatures respond with a surge of energy to a threat or an opportunity. In the business world, a change of ownership, achieved through a merger, acquisition or leveraged buyout (LBO), represents both. Excitement and fear, dread and anticipation grip individuals as they begin to consider how the change will affect them.
We believe that the surge of energy triggered by an M&A or LBO is the new company’s most valuable asset. The management team can take practical steps to ensure that this organisational energy helps unlock the potential of the new business, resulting in enhanced performance.
Unmanaged energy can become destructive, manifested in in-fighting, anxiety and resistance to change. Organisational energy is too important to ignore. As the case-study opposite shows, it must be used to mobilise the new business to achieve extraordinary changes in a short time.
This article is filed under: organisation, organisation design, organisational energy, organisational performance