Capability

If you have a clear growth strategy that includes mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures or other similar business transactions, there is no reason to go into deals unprepared. It is critical to invest in M&A capability development well before deal-time to give yourself the best chance of meeting deal objectives.

M&A capability development is all about getting ready by improving both organization and individual capability. This includes shoring up “business as usual” infrastructure and supporting systems, as well as establishing deal infrastructure, systems, process and tools. Tapping deal knowledge and experience, including secure access to skilled internal and external resources, is critical.

If your team is bright, well-resourced and motivated, the basics for being effective in support of M&A transactions can be taught. This includes understanding deal fundamentals, as well as having a framework, language and tools in common with other deal team members (in anticipation of transactions). Also valuable is access to an experienced guide for navigating tricky bits along the way.

We find that most acquisitive organizations have some form of M&A processes, tools and documentation to avoid “reinventing the wheel” for every deal. Surprisingly, many still do not include people experience as a chapter in their playbook.

Also we find that few organizations have formal M&A Capability Development Programs and most employ “on the job training” to build capability. This can work well for executive teams and deal team members as long as key members are experienced across the spectrum of required skills. Unfortunately, more frequently than not, preparing line leaders and functional teams is left to chance.

Our M&A People Experience Playbook and supporting Toolkit works “off the shelf” or it can be tailored to mesh with existing tools and processes. Our Playbook/Toolkit development projects include mandatory training for users (collaborators welcome to join), as well as ongoing coaching support for peer review and troubleshooting as required.

Consider tapping into our training modules and expertise if your core philosophy is to build and equip internal resources to support M&A transactions, retaining capability in your organization long after our departure as advisers.

This program is short and sharp, covering the traditional people-related “things that need to be done” at each deal stage. Think of it as a way to build awareness and a checklist of tasks. Don’t expect this 3-4 hour investment to improve your deal outcomes, but it is a great orientation for what to expect at the beginning, middle and end of most deal cycles.