The hard data summarized by the framework responses inform leaders and direct thinking in these situations and The practical benefits: The framework move off the common problem of decisions in the cultural turns cultural generalizations into deeper space being made by anecdotes, opinion and “stories” business discussions because it: from their own beliefs or buildup in the course of target ƒ Helps leaders come to a common understanding of interactions. It is not that these stories and opinions are not the relevance and meaning of culture within the M&A important — they are — but now they can be tested against context for each specific deal the facts gathered. ƒ Breaks culture into terms and components that However, this is not a “one and done” process. Early decisions leaders can easily understand and focuses their need to be revised on a regular basis as new facts and attention on the impact of the key components on a data emerge or circumstances change, which is typical in specific goal or risk transactions. In fact, it would be atypical if circumstances did ƒ Establishes the direct dependency of the people part not change over the course of a transaction. to the broader cultural part and the people who will be responsible for executing the integration As a related by-product, this approach ensures that areas ƒ Forces early discussions about the value of the that leaders have no control or influence over in the early target — as a stand-alone firm and then in the stages do not distract from the conversation. These are potential combination mostly addressed in the post-close component and cover ƒ Necessitates further discussions about the such aspects as: people who drive that value now and in the future ƒ How will we work together? combination, and where these people are currently in ƒ What do we do about employee engagement? the organization — usually even more difficult to get to than the “value” part ƒ How do we ensure that we have the right leadership ƒ Provides better information to create or refine and behaviors? resource the integration strategy, plan and tactics It is important to highlight that these areas are not ignored, because information will be collected to understand how each firm operates. But they are not the focus of the early investigations and no decisions in these areas are made at this stage. These are typically areas that are taught, experienced and observed, which takes time to do, and they unfold mostly after the deal closes — the learning time-based part of culture, mapped to the deal phase where it rises in priority. 14 willistowerswatson.com