Historically, the focus of many M&A deals has been on growing market share and cost advantages. For these types of deals, a traditional approach to M&A integration makes sense. Leaders start by planning and determining the integration milestones they’ll need to reach. They then move through the integration process by following a sequential set of activities. The steps are stage-gated and predetermined.
Many M&A deals today, however, are about more than gaining scale or cost savings. They’re equally about securing new capabilities and innovations to create new customer experiences, drive new behaviors and grow revenues. For such deals, a traditional approach may not be the best choice. Why? Because it tends to push innovation to the bottom of the priority list. Considering that most large transactions can take 12-36 months to complete, a business risks having no—or severely reduced—innovation for an extended period while competitors surge ahead.