How to Survive a Corporate Merger
As Palmer describes it, IBM may be the classic example of the company too big to realize that it has a culture. He found no awareness that other organizations might do things differently. He says: "The attitude at IBM was 'You didn't know about this procedure? Why not?' '' But Palmer stuck it out. "We consultants are problem solvers, so I kept thinking that I could show IBM that this was a better way of doing things in our part of the business," he explains. "But the reality was that IBM was not going to change for us. I should have left sooner." After two years he did leave and is now much happier at Development Alternatives Inc., an entrepreneurial foreign-aid contractor based in Bethesda, Md.
With corporations flush with cash and an improving stock market, the chances are good that the number of mergers and acquisitions will climb this year. That makes preparing yourself for the upcoming culture clash imperative. Be ready.
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