I believe everyone wants to be good at what they do.
In this episode, I’ll show you how to avoid the two years of “we-they” game playing that happens after an acquisition that robs the deal of any potential of a positive ROI.
If you’re the kind of leader:
I believe you deserve to hang on to the customers you just paid for in an acquisition.
In this episode, I’ll show you how you can avoid the customer runoff that is “accepted” as the “way it is” and instead hang on to those customers AND make them profitable.
If you’re the kind of leader:
I believe a good acquisition should be “normalized” in within a quarter—and quickly profitable.
In this episode, I’ll share with you a few elements of a system we use with our clients that have allowed for them to normalize the culture and get everyone playing nice in the sandbox together within a week and assure the acquisition hits its financial expectations that first year.
If you’re the kind of leader:
Unfortunately, for too many banks, the acquisition becomes a profit-sucking, culture destroying, two-year battle of “we versus they.”
In this episode, I’ll show you how to protect yourself from what could be an acquisition nightmare or one that isn’t profitable for years.
Think you’re ready for an acquisition? Think you’ve got a bullet-proof plan?
Imagine if you take a “bring-it-on-and-make-it-happen-no-matter-what” bank culture where people are passionate about what they do, and combine it with a group with a “sit-behind-our-desks-until-we-need-Preparation-H, whine-and-complain-about-the-economy-and-being-too-busy” group. How’s that going to work? Without a “come to Jesus, we see the light” intervention, the likelihood of being able to save many of those people is slim.
And what a costly loss that is.
Nothing trumps culture. Culture means you don’t have middle management breakdown, because they know how to lead.
The coming bank consolidation isn’t a surprise. It’s been predicted for years. In fact, the next 18 months are destined to be a major “shake out” period when weak banks will be acquired or closed—and banks that are in a position to capture the best customers in town will become stronger and more profitable.
If an opportunity like this landed unexpectedly in your lap, would you be ready? Most banks wouldn’t be. Unfortunately, they’ll suffer years of pain, lost productivity, and even reputation damage from what was previously viewed as the opportunity of a lifetime.
A lot of bad things happen around acquisitions. If you’re being acquired, it’s rarely pretty. And if you’re the one acquiring, the Wharton School of Business says your chance of failure is greater than 83 percent. And even if you don’t go down in flames in the opening round, the real heartaches continue for two years after the acquisition as two dark forces are inevitably unleashed:
The coming bank consolidation isn’t a surprise. It’s been predicted for years. In fact, the next 18 months are destined to be a major “shake out” period when weak banks will be acquired or closed—and banks that are in a position to capture the best customers in town will become stronger and more profitable.
If an opportunity like this landed unexpectedly in your lap, would you be ready? Most banks wouldn’t be. Unfortunately, they’ll suffer years of pain, lost productivity, and even reputational damage from what was previously viewed as the opportunity of a lifetime.
Here’s what I know from decades of guiding banks through acquisitions: You have no business doing one if you’re not ready.
So you’ve decided to acquire another bank. For nearly 25 years, I’ve been giving the same advice about acquisitions: DON’T DO IT.
I’ve had good reason to give that advice. Many banks try to solve their inadequacy of systems, education, and strategies by acquiring. And many banks are poised to do exactly that this year. So now you’re going to get a finger-wagging lecture from me, right?
Not necessarily. If you have your house in order, this could be the year for a few great acquisitions. The blue light specials are going to be plentiful in 2013,
Taking Ambitious Community Banks to a 
