Kim asks --
> We are interested in learning how to co-create a VISION
> of two (2) separate business entities coming together in
> a SINGLE business that is a LO. Any suggestions on
> how to do this? Any references to people who have done
> this? Or any leads to people who could help us do this?
Kim, this is essentially what we had to do when Novell and WordPerfect
merged a couple of years ago. In the end, Novell accomplished this by
selling WordPerfect!
It was a painful process because of the disparity in the two companies
mental models. It was common to hear people say, "That's not how we do
things around here," or "That's the Novell way, at WordPerfect this is how
we do things." And, of course, the retort was always, "Yea, and look at
what it got you -- a buy out!"
Not a pretty picture. People were territorial, distrustful, and
suspicious. I can't tell you what to do; I can tell you what not to do:
Both businesses need to respect each others "idiosyncracies" and patiently
work toward a shared vision -- focusing on merging the communities before
merging the business practices. Trust is critical, and both companies need
to demonstrate openness and a willingness to look at things in a new
light.
Hope that helps.
--Benjamin B. Compton ("Ben") | email: bcompton@novell.com Novell GroupWare Technical Engineer | fax: (801) 222-6991
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>