Post Merger Integration; CHALLENGE: Tasked with a technology leadership role
of the much larger organization, the Division was faced with the unique challenge
of:
$25B Telecom Company Using Visioneering & Inward Marketing
SITUATION:
Inward Strategic Consulting was contacted regarding a series of upcoming employee
meetings contemplated by a new division of the client, a $25 billion telecommunications
giant. The new Division had recently been formed through the acquisition of
two high technology firms in the U.S. and the inclusion of two long-standing
internal Product Units. Multi-cultural at its roots, the new Division has major
components/employees in Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K., with smaller units scattered
throughout Europe. Division marketing and sales personnel are worldwide.
- Thoroughly integrating geographically dispersed and culturally diverse units
- Providing leadership to business units with 10-20 times more resources
- Dispelling doubts about the viability of a unit where the management team is U.S. based
- Overcoming a significant level of skepticism/lack of cohesion in the workforce
- A new management team that had limited exposure to working with each other.
SOLUTION: Originally a series of meetings were contemplated as a "unifying event" to bring all employees into alignment around the future of the Division. It became immediately clear, in working with the management of the Division, that the creation of a commonly held Vision was critical before any broad based meetings could effectively be held.
Inward implemented its proprietary VisioneeringTM process with the senior management team of the division, the outcome of which was:
- A clear articulation of the Mission of the Division - why do we exist?
- A set of aspirational organizational objectives - a Vision - which clearly outlined, prospectively, the parameters for success
- Operating Principles - governing all actions - giving purpose and structure to interactions with all constituencies of the Division
- Clearly defining Areas of Action which will serve as the yardstick for channeling activities and judging success
Once clearly determined, the formulation of an aggressive communication plan was made feasible utilizing Inward Marketing™ principles and methodologies, a themed/branded set of employee "launches" were conducted internationally - ultimately involving over 85% of the Division's employees. Over 140 separate employee workshop sessions were conducted with care being taken to capture questions and recommendations for follow-up by management.
RESULTS: Inputs from the workshop sessions were used to revise and refine the Action Areas of the Vision and through careful program management the Vision became the framework for:
- Operating plan execution
- Enrollment of other Divisions in execution of the Vision
- A long term commitment to ongoing communication
- A more thorough understanding of the viewpoints from a variety of employee constituencies
Ultimately, the themed Vision found its way into the customer communication as the Brand promise was met through a well-articulated Vision, management follow-through and continuous commitment to Inward Marketing.
The culture of the Division was fundamentally set and served as the basis for long-term effective execution.
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