Realising potential in merging organisations
“Working with John Drysdale enabled us to combine talents from two diverse cultures into a cohesive organisation.This enabled us to increase market share and sustain annual growth of +50% in the two years following the merger”
President, International Business, Video & Communications Technology Corporation
The Challenge
We worked with the international leadership team to help them integrate a major acquisition which broadened its product portfolio and increased its global footprint.
A world leader in entertainment technology, the company had acquired a UK owned competitor with complementary products and service. To strengthen focus on international growth, the company established a new International Business Organisation, bringing together businesses from Latin America, EMEA, APAC and Canada.
Whereas these businesses had previously reported to Corporate HQ in the US, they now reported to an international organisation based in Europe.
The challenge for this leadership team was to develop an organisation to drive international growth whilst integrating the acquired business.
Individual team members came with successful track records. They all had new roles but they were not yet aligned on what needed to change. Although the cultures and markets of the International Business were very diverse, they needed to work together on common challenges, to realise the potential for international revenue growth.
It became clear that simply extending the leadership team and involving new members in the established processes and meetings wouldn't be enough.
Our Focus
Through a combination of stakeholder interviews, team workshops and 1:1 coaching, we helped the new International Leadership Team create their foundations for sustainable high performance.
Looking out and looking in
We helped them do this, firstly by "looking outside" the team to gain a shared understanding of what they needed to do to build and sustain a reputation for success with customers, partners, employees, investors and other stakeholders.
Then we coached the team to "look-in", clearly defining responsibilities and recognising how they can leverage the strengths of all team members. They committed to expectations of how they will lead and work together. They clarified their shared values, translating their shared identity into results by holding each other accountable.
Outcomes
Building on these foundations enabled them to increase employee engagement and collaboration across the organisation.
But that wasn’t all
Improvement in business performance has been exceptional. International revenue has grown by 50% over two years increasing the proportion of total company revenue represented by International Business from 34% to 43%.
Key to the success of this program was shifting the conversations between team members which changed the way they worked together, leading to exceptional improvements in performance.
Team members commented:
"These workshops enable us to have a deeper shared understanding of our challenges and avoid the pitfalls of jumping too quickly to solutions"
"It's so valuable to take time out of a hectic schedule to stand back, reflect and understand our common challenges and how we can work together to meet them"