Clashing Cultures in a Merger
A difference of opinion: from millstone to blessing
Part of a large accounting/financial institution was spun-off. A new Executive Team was appointed, and the Team’s first task was to ensure that the new company would generate income rapidly. The CEO is an extremely creative and results-oriented person who is capable of rapid decision-making and action. The Sales Executive Officer is also highly results-oriented. Consequently the Executive team is an energetic team that sees opportunities for sales in every segment of the market.
The company’s managers and staff have traditionally been trained to avoid errors. They are accustomed to set procedures, and any changes are always implemented by means of consensus. The product range has remained virtually unchanged for many years. Now they are suddenly confronted with continual new ideas and insights. The managers and staff are increasingly becoming a millstone around the Executive Team’s neck. This has resulted in great tension within the organization, as a result of which the continuity of the new company has rapidly come under threat.
Accepting people as they are
Although the creativity and results-orientation of the Executive Team is a blessing for a new company, it is nevertheless accompanied by a risk of errors and nonchalance – and that is completely impermissible for this company’s business, since its customers need to have absolute confidence in the quality of the company’s products.
In an ideal situation the creativity and results-orientation of the Executive Team should be linked to the extreme drive to avoid errors and supply quality as exhibited by the managers and staff – or, in other words, people should be accepted as they are.
Linking the various values
Solving this problem begins with ‘getting acquainted’ with each other. What is the character of the members of the Executive Team, and of each member of staff? What are their drives, and what is their added value for the company? Understanding each other can result in the growing comprehension that people with different value profiles, different drives, can supplement each other and still remain true to themselves.
The Management Drives test offers a thorough and rapid insight into individual value systems. These measurements also offer a rapid insight into the manner in which individuals can supplement each other.
In this example from actual practice a communications and collaboration method was developed in which the creative and results-oriented Executive Team involves the “Bluer” second-line management – focused more on the procedures and the avoidance of errors – at an early stage in the sales. These managers are then able to identify any potential problems and indicate which issues will require additional attention – whereby they are not trying to sabotage creative ideas; they are trying to increase the probability that the deals all succeed. And the Executive Team appreciates that.
