cameron and green making-sense-of-change-management

The applicationsHOW TO KEEP CUSTOMERS ON BOARDOne of our first actions was to embark on a series of customer visits thatinvolved a senior sales person from both the merging companies. This allowedus to learn how to work together, and fast! It reassured customers and allowedus to deliver a clear message:• we were now one company;• there would be a single point of contact going forward;• the merger was amicable and well managed.Sales Manager from merged retail companyAVOIDING THE SEVEN DEADLY SINSFeldmann and Spratt (1999) identify seven deadly sins in implementing amerger or acquisition. Their book goes on to describe in detail how toensure that you avoid these problems.• Sin 1: Obsessive list making. Don’t make lists of everything thatneeds to be done – it is exhausting and demoralizing. Instead, use the80:20 rule. Focus on the 20 per cent of tasks that add the most value.• Sin 2: Content-free communications. Don’t send out communicationsthat contain only hype and promotion. Employees, customers,suppliers and shareholders all have real questions, so answer them.• Sin 3: Creating a planning circus. Use targeted task forces, ratherthan a hierarchy of slow-paced committees.• Sin 4: Barnyard behaviour. Unless roles and relationships are clarified,feathers will fly in an attempt to establish pecking order. Simplylabelling the hierarchy will not sort this one out.• Sin 5: Preaching vision and values. If you want cultural change, youhave to work at it. It will not happen through proclamation.• Sin 6: Putting turtles on fence posts. Ensure that the role modelsyou select for promotion provide good examples of how you wantthings to be. Do not compromise on selection by indulging in a quotasystem (two of theirs and two of ours).• Sin 7: Rewarding the wrong behaviours. Sort out compensation andlink it to the right behaviours.240