The marketing company of a leading German media group had acquired a media start-up. The acquisition was to be linked to the existing business model for online media. However, the primary goal was not a complete merger, but rather a merger of parts of the respective value chains (in particular central functions) to generate synergies. The interim manager was given the task of steering the post-merger integration and managing the acquired online medium until it was taken over by a new managing director.
Tensions between the parent company and the acquired start-up
The post-merger integration phase had already begun at the time the mandate was taken on. There were more than 10 interface projects in which the representatives of the two companies had to agree on the mode of future cooperation. Project progress was very slow in almost all sub-projects. The mood of the protagonists was neutral at best, often even hostile.
On taking up his position, the interim manager initially held individual discussions with all project participants and the management stakeholders. During the discussions, it became clear that not all protagonists had the same understanding of the project objectives. The employees of the acquired company viewed the process as a kind of hostile takeover - even though they had been promised that they would be able to continue operating their own business model as independently as possible.
Open and regular communication as the key to a positive atmosphere
In order to align the prevailing different attitudes and levels of knowledge, the interim manager introduced a series of rituals and platforms from the Scrum environment for regular exchange. Weeklies were set up for all sub-projects, in which joint tasks were defined and progress was presented and discussed. These were preceded by kick-off meetings in which the status to date and the overarching objective of the overall project and the respective sub-project were presented, discussed and approved.
In addition, the interim manager set up an overarching steering committee in consultation with the company management. Here, the sub-project owners reported every 4 weeks on the progress of the project, obstacles (impediments) and the need for decisions.
All sub-projects successfully completed within 7 months
The communication measures had the intended success. Within 6 months, 10 out of 11 sub-projects were successfully completed. In the remaining sub-project, the personal differences between the parties involved could not be bridged. On the recommendation of the interim manager, an employee was removed from project responsibility. This project was also brought to a positive conclusion after a further month.
After completion of the actual PMI project, the interim manager led the operational areas of sales and marketing as a member of the management team. The newly appointed managing director later took over the integrated start-up.
