The Challenge: Post-Merger Chaos
A private equity firm executed an aggressive acquisition strategy—first acquiring the #2 player in the market, then the #1 competitor. The goal? Create an industry giant. The reality? A culture war that stalled progress. Not unexpected, but largely underestimated.
Company #2 was fast and scrappy, eager to take the #1 spot in the market. They thrived on rapid customer-centric pivots and innovation, which put it at odds with the structured, deliberate and long-view approach to customer feedback of the incumbent #1 market leader. The younger challenger brand was design-driven, favouring rapid iterations, intuitive UX, and a bias toward experimentation over structure. Their approach often clashed with the most established engineering-focused,, methodical, process-driven cultures, leading to friction in decision-making, misaligned expectations, and a disconnect in measuring success. Evolved out of competition, not collaboration, and the polarized "us vs Them" mentalities ingrained on each side. Six months in, silos on each side were still deeply entrenched, attrition was rising, and momentum had stalled. Revenue was way down on both sides. The market awaited better products promised by the merger, and operational inefficiencies, market uncertainty, and forecast signals were weak. Leadership had two choices: act fast or watch the opportunity implode.
Mission one: get teams moving in a single, strategic direction. Identify what to keep, what to scrap, and how to deliver customer value.
- Attrition Risk: More people are polishing resumes than product roadmaps.
- Workplace Vibe: Abandoned desks, outdated materials, and a "this isn't my problem" mindset.
- Resistance vs. Change Agents: Who's pushing forward, clinging to the past, and setting fires to watch it all burn?
- Build Alignment through Experimentation: Rapid prototyping to find alignment on a shared direction, move forward and repeat.
What Became Clear
- Leadership lacked a unified vision—contention and chaos stalled progress.
- Pre-merger silos remained intact, backchannels were stalling execution.
- Both Leaders and employees from both organizations were bitter and grieving—too focused on exit plans to drive impact.
Energy invested in workshops with the Cynefin Estuarine Mapping Framework pays off, particularly in a contentious merger that has stalled out the product.
The first tasks were about finding direction — mapping what aspects of the business could be refocused first, from leadership alignment to process restructuring. The solution had to be immediate and decisive. Rip off the band-aid. Ditch the bloated bureaucracy. Get people focused on the same problem, cut the ceremony, and force collaboration through action. Small, cross-functional teams making real-time decisions.
Less debate, more execution. The second task was about actioning what we could control to gain momentum. Fast decisions, ruthless prioritization, and cutting through the noise turned things around. This wasn't just integration—the new company was at risk while the market was getting impatient waiting for what this new company would bring to market.
Key Takeaways
- Real executive alignment is everything—without it, nothing moves.
- The framework should enable speed, not kill momentum.
- Real-world feedback beats theoretical strategy every time.
- Culture is either your most significant advantage or liability—fix it fast.
You don’t need another consultant who drops a strategy deck and disappears. You need someone who cuts through the “us vs. them” deadlock, gets teams moving, and drives execution in real time. I’ve navigated these tides more than once—breaking through post-merger chaos and turning stalemates into momentum.
If your organization is stuck, navigate out of the chaos and fix it next quarter.
Let’s get to work.
