Metre22 Blog
International Joint Ventures. Ways To Improve The Success Of Your Long-Distance Relationships.
In 1993, while speaking to graduate students at Columbia University’s School of Business, Warren Buffett was asked how he evaluates investment risks. “Risk,” he told the students, “comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” When it comes to entering new markets, some companies sadly fall squarely into this category. This is especially true when it…
Finishing Up An M&A Integration? It May Be Time For A Strategy Reset.
A good friend of mine and his wife recently went through some major life changes. They had twin baby boys, adopted a second rescue dog and both started new jobs — all of this in a roughly 5 month period. As the significance of these changes sank in, my friend looked at me over dinner…
Can Too Much Teamwork on Strategy Create a Monster?
On occasion my family will embark on a family-pizza-night adventure. It’s quite the team-building exercise since most of the places we frequent serve pizza sized to feed the entire family rather than the four individuals who make up our clan. The “team building” part of the program comes in deciding what type of pizza to…
Have Mergers and Acquisitions Left You With Too Much ‘Stuff’ In Your Corporate Garage?
“…that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know?” ~ George Carlin In his classic and truly genius comedic skit, George Carlin highlights our absurd proclivity to acquire and then have to store our “stuff.” In the U.S., the overwhelming amount of stuff has given rise to the storage industry which now…
In A New C-Suite Role? Your Communications Style Sets Tone and Culture.
First Impressions Create Lasting Impressions When new executive leaders transition into their roles, the entire organization tunes in. How messages get delivered internally is an important choice to which newly-anointed executives should pay close attention. The “right” mix of communication channels and styles to the organization is not a one-size-fits-all proposition – the needs and…
After the Merger: Successfully Blending Corporate Cultures
When two companies merge, the primary focus is usually on how quickly the organization can blend and optimize operations and take advantage of sales and marketing synergies. And that’s great. But there’s another issue that requires just as much attention: Corporate Culture. When companies are merging, differences in corporate culture become immediately evident. Those differences often…