The client uses cultural instruments from the MutKoffer to implement a company acquisition

Merging & Acquisition: An IT company with 300 employees worldwide needs to implement an acquisition. Communication and specific working materials are required in this case. The Denkwerkstatt MutKoffer contains the appropriate tools and training formats.

The initial situation was unclear. Both companies served a similar customer market, both companies had well-trained IT specialists who were difficult to find on the market.

At the beginning of the merger, the management tried to create a new company with the executives from both companies. This turned out to be difficult. The discussions about technology were good. When it came to leadership and collaboration, it was clear from these meetings that things were not progressing properly.

As the Denkwerkstatt was known in-house, we were asked what we would advise: We recommended a cultural analysis (LCA) and the mobilization of employees without management responsibility. We found 14 employees who were trained as moderators who, among other things, moderated workshops in the company when merging divisions (2 divisions became 1).

Moderator training

The training comprises 4 modules

• Moderation basics
• Simulations of specific workshops as part of the merger
• Conflicts in moderation
• Moderation & group dynamics

These were workshops from employee to employee from both source companies. The participants trusted the moderators, who came from their own ranks. Integration was accelerated. The cooperation and management of the divisions was increasingly characterized by self-responsible teams. The moderators will again play an important role in the coming changes to the rapidly growing company.

Operational fields of action: Meetings, reports and email etiquette

Amazon in the days of Jeff Bezos had a way of organizing meetings.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has specific principles and rules for meetings that aim to maximize efficiency and productivity. Here are some of his well-known meeting rules:

1. The two-pizza ruleA meeting should have no more participants than can be fed with two pizzas. This means that the ideal group size for a meeting should be small and manageable in order to remain productive.
2. No PowerPoint presentationsInstead of PowerPoint slides, Bezos prefers written memos. He demands that meetings begin with a carefully prepared, narrative memo that is read by all participants. These memos are usually six pages long and provide an in-depth analysis of the topic.
3. Silent reading at the beginningAt the beginning of the meeting, the participants take time to read the prepared memos silently. This ensures that everyone has the same level of knowledge and that the discussion can be conducted on a sound basis.
4. Clear agenda and objectivesEvery meeting should have a clear agenda and defined objectives. This helps to keep the meeting focused and goal-oriented.
5. Responsibility and follow-upAfter the meeting, there should be clear responsibilities and follow-up actions. Every decision and every step taken should be documented and tracked.
6. Discussion-based decision-makingBezos prefers open discussions and encourages different opinions and perspectives. This leads to more informed decisions.
7. Preparation is crucialAll participants should be well prepared.
8. There is a sign on an empty chair with the name Customer. It is a reminder that the customer should always be the focus of the meeting.

In our MUT toolbox, we have included tools for meetings, editing e-mails and writing of reports and complete templates for companies that want to improve in these fields.
We have developed these templates with several of our customers. Cultural change is an important start in organizations. Everyone realizes that the culture of togetherness Speaking and the way texts are written is an important part of the change.