New Mantra: I HATE PROCESS

So, our new merger partner is big on PROCESS. I recognize that a larger company (they have more than 14,000 worldwide, compared to our measly 1,800) needs to have standards of practice. In fact, given the fact that my job over the years has been more about constant reinventing of the wheel and starting from scratch than efficient decision-making, I've been a proponent of process. HOWEVER, there's process and there's PROCESS.


I spent more than 4 hours in the last two days with 6 people on conference calls to figure out our message to the marketplace. Correction, to figure out our recommendation to our Board of our message to the marketplace. By the end, we had created a weaker, undesigned version of a sample advertorial I did ALL BY MYSELF 5 weeks ago. This is not the efficiency I hoped to get from process.


Prudence stops me from saying much more. I mean even though my real name still doesn't link with this site or find me in a direct Google Search, there are enough pointers that I could be found by an internet savvy person.

This is all about growing pains, learning curves, and integration. This is all about understanding one another's businesses, methodologies, practicies. This is all about creating elbow room and new boundaries. This is all about PROCESS.

And did I mention my new mantra? Oh yeah, I HATE PROCESS.

Backseat Driving

Aha! So PROACTIVE is returning to favor in our little merger story. Yesterday, feeling admittedly a little forlorn and relegated to the back seat, I called my VP and said, "You know, we're missing the 'bounce' opportunity here." He asked me to explain, whereby I spent a good 20 minutes (keeping him from going to happy hour by the way) talking about how the attention span of the marketplace was short and that all our clients are hearing right now is the whisperings of our competitors. "We need to grab the spotlight and use this brief window to get our value message out there!" He agreed and took it to our CEO (who luckily retains some significant power in our merged organization).

Today, we were able to turn the tides. We shouted "We are being PROACTIVE!!" proudly and we're getting positive results. We have a meeting set with our new merger partner's head of marketing where we plan to slap him around a little. AND we were asked by the new Board of Directors to prepare a branding/advertising/communications plan for their meeting next week to make the most of the 'bounce'.

Just goes to show you (and Hubby will agree) I drive from the backseat too.

When Proactive is a Bad Word...

As we progress into our merger we are facing a 24 month integration period. I can't decide if that is a nice gradual pace for change....or just pure torture. It could be like ripping a band-aid off hair by hair...in the pubic area...

Let me preface the next bit (for those of you who are my colleagues...) by saying I still believe this is going to be a pretty cool end result and that 99.99% of the people I've met on the other side of the fence are pretty great.

Last week we met with the Integration leadership team. Where they used words like curious and proactive as if they were actually words like annoying or insane.

"We appreciate that your team has been so....PROACTIVE [read annoying]...in your activities so far. Now is the time for us to slow down as we make plans for our future."

"You certainly are a CURIOUS [read insane] bunch - the most CURIOUS [read really insane] group we've worked with so far."

When you are used to charting your own course, it's tough to give up the navigation...or to start having to call in to port every 5 minutes to get an ok. Things that used to be autonomous may likely require committee approvals now. While I freely admit, our company has needed some structure and discipline, bureacracy it already has...in spades.

So...the integration begins. And the first hairs are being yanked out today. Stay tuned.

Say It Ain't So...

At the end of the work day today, my VP came to Boss Lady's desk (where I had parked for an end of day recap) and said, "Well, it's done." He was speaking of course of THE MERGER. (Did you really think I would link you to the actual press release and tell you where I work?)

Anyway....

After saying this jubilantly, he high fived both BL and me and headed upstairs to pick up some paperwork he needed to sign.

BL and I sat quietly, still talking of some of the details of our events and communications that will finish out the week, while jointly absorbing the good, the bad, and the ugly from the first meeting we had held with the new integration team from the 'other' company.

After a few minutes, VP returned but with a little less bounce in his step. He came back to our huddle, grasping his papers, and said with a puzzled look, "I don't know...I almost feel like crying...or should I be celebrating?" BL quickly replied, "Celebrate! You worked hard for this."

Not long afterward, VP called me from his car. He was still in disbelief. Despite the fact that he and I have been working on this for more than a year, that we both believe it is the right choice for our firm, the reality feels...well...suddenly real.

Within moments of that call, BL stopped at my desk on her way out and told me that while writing an email to our integration manager, she had begun to cry. Suddenly she was feeling the evidence of the change in our fates. We are much smaller fish in a much larger pond now. We are no longer masters of our own domain - trusted to decide without questioning. We must report and wait for approvals that were never needed before. It is truly the end of an era.

Between us we have 65 years at this company. VP has 30, I have nearly 20 and BL has 15. We've grown up and grown old(er) in this place with these people. I believe a good percentage of these people will still be here at the end of the 2 year integration period...but undoubtedly some will not. And for those that remain, we may find ourselves working in different departments, different buildings, different states, different countries...

When I coached our CEO for his presentation to all staff tomorrow, I stressed, "At the end, please be sure to pause for BOTH REFLECTION AND CELEBRATION....we need to recognize our history before we jump into our future." I hope he heard me. Because watching those of us tonight who had known what was coming take what felt like a body blow from the actual final mind shift of the deal closing gives me just a small glimpse of where 1783 people will be tomorrow.

And, despite our best intentions, I don't think the barbecued ribs and lemonade in the parking lot or the day-glo orange beanie baby lizards (the new company logo), are really going to help. In fact, I predict some nasty things in the future for those lizards. They just scream voodoo doll.