The Merger Mindset: How to Get It Right in the High-Stakes World of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures

The Merger Mindset offers a unique perspective for leaders―those executives whose companies, reputations, and futures will thrive or fail because of a deal or a series of deals. This book for leaders helps decision-makers deal with the powerful undercurrents and interpersonal dynamics at play in every deal, and no one is more qualified to write it than Constance Dierickx and Linda Henman.

Other books on mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures overwhelmingly have one characteristic in common: they’re technical. Attorneys write books about the legal and contractual aspects of deals; project management experts write from the point of view of managing tasks and schedules; and investment bankers write about valuation and negotiation. The Merger Mindset presents an amalgamation of what Drs. Dierickx and Henman have observed―and in many cases, helped to create―in more than 65 cumulative years of consulting with Fortune 500 companies, privately-held firms, family-owned businesses, and military organizations. Their in-the-trenches experiences spurred them to arrive at this premise: To position their organizations for more success, leaders can’t shy away from the high stakes, tough decisions about their futures.

This book maps the key steps in the M & A journey. It takes the reader through how to make the decision to grow acquisitively, identify roadblocks and typical wrong turns, and ultimately shows how to unlock their decision-making potential while navigating an increasingly uncertain world. Through compelling stories and surprising research findings, readers will discover that there’s much more to the decision-making that drives M & A deals than they ever imagined, and they will come away with tools to help them deepen their understanding of what it takes to succeed. A fascinating read, the text weaves lessons that surface from the stories with highly pragmatic advice about suggested mindset, checklists, processes, and diagnostic tools. Readers will understand that while M & A deals aren’t simple, leaders don’t have to overly complicate them either. Instead, they can simplify the process if they remember hope shouldn’t serve as a strategy, and they can’t abdicate or delegate their leadership responsibilities.

The lessons from mergers and acquisitions are critical to those considering a deal, but applied elsewhere, they have equal value, even though noticing them takes more effort. This is the essence of leadership: doing the hard work of ensuring that the gulf between strategy and tactics does not lead to either over simplification or needless complexity.

Constance Dierickx helps organizations turn volatility into opportunity. Senior leaders hire Constance to help them grow their businesses―especially in turbulent situations that require courageous leadership. She has consulted to organizations in Europe, the Middle East, South America, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Clients include companies from the Fortune 50 to startups in industries such as asset management, banking, entertainment, insurance, logistics, manufacturing, private equity, retail, restaurant, technology, and wholesale services.

Early in her career, while a broker at Merrill Lynch, she observed firsthand the power of emotion and perceptual distortion on major decisions. Her curiosity about the behavior of both clients and colleagues led her to study psychology and business and to earn a Ph.D. After joining a global consulting firm, she became a key resource to boards on top leader succession and organizational transitions, whether planned or imposed.

Constance has worked with companies such as AT&T, AutoTrader.com, Bank of America, Benckiser, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Cox Enterprises, IBM, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johnson Controls, Manheim, Next Gear Capital, Olive Garden, Reckitt and Colman, and Zenith Data Systems.

She is known for her sharp insights and pragmatic advice. Her point of view is sought by publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Boards and Directors, Corporate Board Member, Directorship, Fortune.com, People and Strategy, and Chief Executive. Additionally, Constance is the author of High Stakes Leadership, which Taylor and Francis publishers released in 2017.

Dr. Linda Henman, who is known as the Decision Catalyst ®, is the founder of the Henman Performance Group, a leadership consulting firm located in St. Louis, MO. Linda helps C-suite leaders make decisions that they must get right and can’t afford to get wrong. In more than 35 years, none of her hundreds of projects has failed. She has worked with more than 80 clients in 13 industries. Some of her clients include leaders in organizations like Avon, Emerson, Estee Lauder, Kraft, and Tyson.

Linda first studied decision-making while working on her PhD in 1994. She conducted long-term original research on138 American POWs (including John McCain) who had survived five or more years of brutal imprisonment. The study, under the direction of the U. S. Navy, uncovered the pivotal decisions the POWs had needed to make to stay resilient―decisions about their beliefs, identity, and life’s purpose. These research findings have guided Linda’s work with executives ever since.

Today, Linda works predominately with those in the c-suite to help them make decisions on issues like business growth, Mergers & Acquisitions, and succession planning. (In fact, Linda was one of eight succession planning experts who worked with John Tyson after his company’s acquisition of International Beef Products―one of the most successful acquisitions of the 21st Century.)

Linda has written or cowritten six books, including The Magnetic Boss, Landing in the Executive Chair, Challenge the Ordinary, and Tough Calls. She also writes regularly for CEO Magazine and Corporate Compliance Insights.

Linda is an inductee in the Million Dollar Consultants’ Hall of Fame and holds numerous professional certifications, including Director of Professionalism, a designation given by the National Association of Corporate Directors.