Can we extend the working day to 18 hours ?
Most people on full time employment spend 7
to 9 hours a day actually working; individuals with senior responsibilities, those with irregular work schedules and busy entrepreneurs
may find themselves working longer days (and nights!), and for them 12 hour days might not be uncommon in the rush to meet deadlines.
So why not push the limit a little further and adopt the 18 hour working day?
[read more]
Pillars of Strength supporting successful Business Integration
The vast majority of mergers and
acquisitions do not deliver their expected benefits, and a good number fail completely. Yet repeatedly we see shareholders place implicit
trust in company management teams to carry out a successful merger or acquisition, assuming all will run smoothly. In fact they should
probably assume failure, unless something is done differently. But what might that something be?
[read more]
Leadership style and Motivation : a key role for seasoned interims in driving radical change
Scores of
books have been written about how to drive change in organisations; and probably the same volume of documentation exits that describes
how so many big change programmes fail miserably. Driving successful change is a science and an art. The science requires strict adherence
to the principles of good programme management, whereas the art calls upon the more intangible capability of true leadership: the
ability to generate traction for change, rather than pushing for change against a wall of resistance. But what type of leadership
are we looking for?
[read more]
Integrating
companies in M&A deals: 5 things to watch out for
This is the second of two interviews with Paul J Siegenthaler, a veteran of
planning and executing international M&A integrations, and author of Perfect M&As: The Art of Business Integration.
In the
first, Paul talked about why things go wrong, good and bad integration examples, and the role of interim executives. Here he offers
his five, most-frequently encountered reasons why integrations go wrong.
[read more]
M&A bounces back: a timely moment to look at effective integration
M&A
activity rebounded strongly in the first half of 2011, with a remarkable 49% increase in EMEA region deal value compared to the same
period last year, says analyst Mergermarket.*
Paul J Siegenthaler is a veteran of planning and executing M&A integrations on an
international scale, and author of Perfect M&As: The Art of Business Integrations. In this first of two interviews he talks about
why things go wrong, good and bad integration examples, and the role of interim executives
[read more]
Caution urged over M&A action in 2011
Siegenthaler is concerned that many will embark on ambitious
mergers or acquisitions during 2011 which seem too good to miss out on, but will fail to realise just how challenging and complex
it can be to blend to businesses and cultures together until its too late.
[read more]
Approach 2011 M&A boom with caution, warns expert
2011 is shaping up to be a stronger year in terms of M&A activity,
as market uncertainty subsides and companies get a clearer and more stable picture of the business case underlying their merger or
acquisition projects. There is likely to be a rise in mega deals this year and with this comes a greater level of risk, if the M&A
business integration process is not handled appropriately
[read more]
Mergers and
Acquisitions Set to Boom in 2011
Although global M&A may not be up to pre recession levels, it is evident that the volume of deals
began to pick up throughout last year. There was a notable absence of so called mega deals due to a heightened perception of risk
and the element of uncertainty, something which M&A expert Paul J. Siegenthaler predicts is likely to change this year
[read more]
Could an acquisition be on the cards for 2011?
Paul J Siegenthaler is a serial business
integrator whose expertise in mergers and acquisitions is highly sought after. His top ten tips for the 2011 include how to ensure
a smooth integration, how to create a sense of common purpose within blended organizations, and crucially how to instigate acceptance
of change whilst avoiding common pitfalls..
[read more]
Effective M&A in the age
of austerity (part 2)
For many people, the main impact a period of austerity has on business is the need for particular scrutiny on
costs. I dont subscribe to that view, because seeking cost efficiencies should be part of normal everyday discipline.
[read more]
Effective M&A in the age of austerity (part 1)
Businesses are like the human body:
you can choose to grow fat and subsequently endure the pain of a crash diet, or take regular exercise and remain fit. The latter is
almost certainly the way shareholders would like companies to behave. In that sense, cost control and measurement of the benefits
case realisation must be conducted rigorously during an M&A integration, regardless of the state of the economy.
[read more]
Speed is crucial when arranging a merger, says expert
A business integration expert
has highlighted the importance of speed when companies are being merged. Paul J Siegenthaler, founding partner at Focus On Change,
said that the reason 50 per cent of mergers were successful was due to the companies moving 'very fast' on the day the merger was
announced.By moving quickly, companies can reassure staff as well as keeping competitors at bay, he added.
[view excerpt of broadcast]
Move fast when merging, warns M&A Expert
Speed is of the essence when companies are
being merged, according to a business integration expert. Paul J Siegenthaler, founding partner at Focus On Change, told a breakfast
seminar organised by senior level IT and finance search firm Axiom Executive that lack of speed was an important reason why between
50% and 80% of all mergers failed.
[read more]
The difficulty of initiating and driving
change
Biologically, the human being has not evolved that much in the past 3,000 years and yet the accepted wisdom of our century
is that routine is dull, that is makes life boring and is not cool'. Quite to the contrary, if you think of it, routine is in fact
what prevents us from collapsing with mental overload before the morning is over.
[read more]
Perfect M&As: Values vs Egos
In economic terms size matters, being big enough is important, but this does
not mean that bigger is automatically better because size is also a factor of complexity and can potentially lead to lack of focus.
But regardless of the cogency of the merger proposition, the team at the top of the organisation will have their moment of glory in
the media and be the talk of the town.
[read more]
Thomas Cook and Co-op merge to create
UKs largest high street travel chain Comment
Whereas so many merger projects attract criticism from either the financial media,
regulatory authorities, politicians or competition, the case for a merger of Thomas Cook and Co-ops travel businesses is so plain
to see and makes such obvious sense that the only voice of dissent appears to be a rather timid statement by the Usdaw trade union.
[read more]
Business Integration: Starting off on the right foot
The very
first mistake many companies make takes place at the onset of the voyage they have decided to embark upon together, by failing to
paint a clear and coherent picture of their shared vision and aims. As a result, the mental energy of most of the individuals in both
organisations will be wasted on hypothesising whether theirs is a merger of equals, or a take-over, a convergence towards "best of
both", the overthrow of one company's culture by the other's, or a common journey towards totally new ways of working.
[read more]
Merger Madness
Most mergers go disastrously wrong. Paul J Siegenthaler, author of Perfect
M&As, sets out his recipe for a successful one.
[read more]
Learning from the successes
and failures of M&A integrations; there is a key role for Law firms
The success of an integration rests on a few imperative pillars
that prepare the two organisations and accompany them on their voyage of integration. Omit one of these pillars and your integration
project is likely to topple over:
[read more]
The intricate alliances and code-share
arrangements that exist between airilnes will require a number of potentially messy divorces before TAM-LAN marriage can take place.
After
the many mergers and alliances of airlines in Europe and North America, it should come as no surprise that the airlines of emerging
markets should want to challenge the worldwide supremacy of the northern hemispheres long established leading brands.
[read more]
Why acquisitions fail
The vast majority acquisitions fail and yet we see repeatedly that
shareholders trust their company to carry out a successful merger or acquisition, assuming all will run smoothly. In fact they should
assume failure, unless something is done differently.
[read more]
Excerpt
from "Perfect M&As - The Art of Business Integration"
Good cooks will tell you that making a perfect mayonnaise is an art, and
that if you place two egg yolks in a bowl, add oil, let them rest for a while and observe, you shouldn't be surprised if nothing happens.
Likewise when bringing two companies together and expecting them to blend into a single seamless entity.
[read more]
The 10 most common causes for companies failing to integrate and profit from M&A activity.
1. Ignorance.
While the parties to a merger or acquisition cannot exchange commercially sensitive information prior to being under common ownership,
there is enough crucially important and legally permissible preparation work to keep an integration team busy for several months before
day one. Most chief executives dont know this and they waste the time that could be put to good use while they await clearance from
the regulatory authorities.
[read more]
What can companies do to integrate successfully
when all the odds seem to be against them ?
With various studies estimating the failure rate of M&As to be between 50% and 80%,
what can companies do to integrate successfully when all the odds seem to be against them ?
You are right this is a rather discouraging
statistic, and yet we see repeatedly that shareholders trust their company to carry out a successful merger or acquisition, assuming
all will run smoothly when in fact they should assume failure unless something is done differently. And that something is not
just down to good luck.
[read more]
Can UK Sport and Sport England demonstrate some team spirit, or will their public
lack of acceptance of the merger kill it before it even begins? What does this bode for the London 2012 Olympics?
UK Sport chair Baroness
Sue Campbell has warned of the effects of merging the organisation with Sport England could have on Great Britain's Olympic success.
UK Sport and Sport England are to be merged as part of the coalition Government's money-saving programme, culture secretary Jeremy
Hunt announced yesterday.
[read more]
Head of PriceWaterhouseCooper's Post Deal services in Singapore sees
Need for integration
specialists in the client's team to achieve a successful merger or acquisition
BEN DE HALDEVANG, Director of PWC's Post Deal services,
sent me an email shortly after the publication of Perfect M&As, the Art of Business Integration saying "I very much enjoyed your
book; there were some really great ideas in it". Why would a competitor offer a compliment, you might wonder? Put in another way:
does my work with companies that are in the process of merging, or integrating a major acquisition, complement the input of the likes
of PWC, Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Grant Thornton who advise their clients on mergers and acquisitions, or are these and
many other large reputed accounting firms in fact my competitors?
[read more]
Financial pressure prompts constabularies
consider what was previously thought of as inconceivable :
a merger! But is their objective clear, and can they afford the short term
costs ?
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Police yesterday published a paper stating that a full and voluntary merger is the preferred
option. They have forecast a combined budget gap of 40.6m over the next four years. At 6,200 strong, the new force would be the
10th largest in England and Wales and would deliver savings of 20.4m, the report, seen by Police Review magazine, says.
[read more]