7 Secrets of Structured Synergy: Optimizing M&As, Alliances and Strategic Partnerships

The business press consistently reports that Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances have a 50% failure rate. This high failure rate appeared to be inaccurate. After delving into academic journal's providing valid research into this topic, it was found that this statistic was wrong. The failure rate of 50% was found to be much higher. The M&A failure rate was more than 70 to 80%.
Traditionally, business leaders have focused M&A's, alliances and strategic partnerships using primary expertise from financial, legal, and business advisors. What was missing, causing such a high failure rate?
Scientific evidence-based techniques revealed that the crucial missing component was the lack of a formal addressment of the human culture merger in the new organization. The foundation for enabling and structuring the cultural integration to gain synergy, was the missing dynamic.
After reviewing over 600 journal articles and case studies of merging company successes and failures, 7 specific leadership practices emerged to optimize M&A, alliance, and strategic partnership success. The research found 7 practices which emphasize bridging human relationships, across operational work groups and divisions. Essentially, focusing the same rigor used for the financial and legal activities on the human cultural merger.
Practical leadership skills and tools have been distilled, from effective leaders of M&As and are presented to corporate leaders to optimize successful results, using the 7 Secrets.

Most dedicated scientists have at least one central research question that stirs a lifelong curiosity. As a beginning PhD psychology graduate school student, Dennis A. Romig was haunted by the question posed in the USSR-produced film of Leo Tolstoy's sweeping novel, War and Peace, "If evil men can work together to get what they want, why can't good men work together to get what they want?" After receiving his doctoral degree, Dr. Romig's scholarly life's work and business solutions began with first questioning how "good men and women" can successfully cooperate in a single work team. This led to a review of 1,200 research studies of teamwork.

Dennis noticed a curious finding: Almost any teamwork intervention could produce favorable results in college student studies. Also, success could easily be proven based on the results of paper-pencil questionnaire ratings of improvement. On the other hand, when research of teamwork was conducted in real work organizations and improved work performance and business results were the criteria of success, many "fad "programs failed. He called this research "data" studies. And even better-quality evidence was if a control or comparison group's results were contrasted with the data results of the proven teamwork practice. These studies are hard data studies. Dr. Romig summarized the teamwork hard data studies in his 1996 book, "Breakthrough Teamwork: Outstanding Results Using Structured Teamwork." After addressing how good women and men can cooperate, the next research question was, can good women and men successfully turn an entire organization from failure or mediocre performance to achieving stellar results?

The hard data research-based answers were published in his book "Side by Side Leadership: Achieving Outstanding Results Together." This book was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and won the award for Best Business Book of the Year. Dr. Dennis Romig is currently CEO of Side by Side, Inc., assisting leaders in optimizing their M&As, alliances, and strategic partnerships. Romig has worked with leaders from IBM, Intel, Texas Instruments, Shell, Motorola, Dell, and Arco. He provides consultative services as well as conducting workshops with training materials that are available for sale and/or licensing.