What do mergers & a hung parliament have in common? People risk. Top tips for the leaders.
A new poll analysis predicts the Tories will fall short of an outright majority and face a hung parliament in nine days' time. The YouGov prediction suggests the Conservatives will win 310 seats- short of the 326 needed to form a Government. In a state where no single political party has a majority then a process of 'deals' between parties becomes likely - in order to form a coalition. (http://www.nme.com/news/new-survey-predicts-huge-tory-losses-and-hung-parliament-2081885 )
This brings to mind a situation where two businesses are brought together, either through acquisition or merger, where market forces have pushed the issue. It is not a coming together of minds or cultures but something that is going to happen - like it or lump it. The strategy of each business is equivalent to the party manifesto of each party. The board of each business is the equivalent to the party leaders. The culture of each business is the equivalent to the underlying core beliefs of each party,
Already as you apply the above to political parties and businesses you can begin to see how hard it is to bring businesses together. And fundamentally the key issue is people. We work with companies to mitigate their people risk through acquisition, sale or merger by using people intelligence. This insight helps corporates understand who the key players are, what makes them tick, what the wider industry thinks of them and what you need to do to keep them, and their clients. We have used this experience to put together our top tips for the party leaders:
1) Identify who the key players are in the other parties. Not the leaders but the whole team, they may be your allies in a coalition and understanding them now will save time later.
2) Understand the culture of the other parties. Produce culture maps that will show areas where you may need to adapt. Our corporate clients can clearly see a chart which identifies fundamental culture 'clashes' that can be address through the integration to prevent fall out at a later date.
3) Understand what the markets think. A week after the election we need to begin Brexit negotiations. Understanding what the key players in the European team and the other parties teams think, and how the market will react will be critical to success in the short term.
4) Build potential coalition cabinet teams now, discreetly, based on the above. Having an external 'succession' pool ready in case of a hung parliament will save time and money and prove critical to confidence (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40101566 )
In the business world there is a multitude of research to show mergers and acquisitions fail. According to Deloitte's 47% of key executives leave in the first year of integration, impacting on business performance. Our corporate clients may not point to failed acquisitions, but most can think of two or three things they wish they had know about the people in the acquired businesses beforehand, as it would have saved significant time and money in the integration.
Standard due diligence is typically done by advisors who have rarely been operators, certainly not in the people field. A successful integration of businesses requires people intelligence, from people who understand talent and the world of research - and this is no different when building a coalition.
So Theresa May, if you want to mitigate your risk in case of a hung parliament, if you want to protect against the impact on the stock market - please call, we shall be waiting to help.