Nothing Will Change
Mergers and acquisitions are justified with financial and strategic projections. We'll only fully capture the results if we successfully recruit the Heads and Hearts of the people coming with the deal. Most ownership teams put enormous effort into the due diligence that defines the deal and largely neglect the human and psychological impact of the change on both teams.
We were working with a subcontractor in a big Arizona market. These owners show up on job sites, know their crew by name, and genuinely love their people. So, when they acquired a new team, they promised,
“Nothing will change.”
Twelve months later, everything had changed. The owners hadn’t prepared themselves or either team for the shift because they didn’t want to invoke panic. But without clarity, there is no Awareness. Nobody can accept and commit to a change they can’t see or understand. So, show them the way.
Your people know change is coming, so when you claim there won’t be any, you are not calming their worries. You’re creating paranoia and spending the trust you’ll need to lead the evolution.
Say this instead: “Some things will change, and we don’t have every answer yet. Here’s what we know, and we want your input before we decide the rest.”
Their input will make your ideas better. And the people who helped shape the plan will be the ones to carry it out with higher levels of ownership.
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