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When Corporate Cultures Collide

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Denise Federer

How to successfully merge divergent cultures into a single, healthy unit In the world of mergers and acquisitions, financial accounting takes precedence over all else. When one company decides to buy or sell to another, the finance people work through the numbers to come up with an agreement acceptable to both parties. What tends to get lost in the initial negotiations, however, are the people. How will the new cultures fit together? Which employees will be retained, and which won’t? The answers to these … Read More >

Posted in Company Culture, Leadership | 1 Comment

Change Management: Getting Senior Leadership Buy-In

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Denise Federer

Change is hard. For organizations made up of disparate personality types, it’s even harder — especially when there’s a lack of buy-in from senior leadership. And in my experience as a change management and family business consultant, that’s all too often the case. Change is necessary. It leads to growth — and not just on a “feel good” level. Studies show that companies who make transformative behavioral changes reap the benefits in their bottom line. Drucker Institute’s recent Management Top 250 report concluded that … Read More >

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Family Business Feud: Getting to the Root of the Issue

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Denise Federer

Family-owned businesses have a unique dynamic. There is a lot more emotion involved than in a public company where answering to the shareholder is the driving force behind all decisions. This emotion can be a positive thing – creating a feeling of unity in which everyone works together to reach a common and even righteous goal. Emotion, though, can complicate things as well – especially among family members in the business. Family relationship dynamics often leak into actual work issues, sometimes amplifying those issues … Read More >

Posted in Blog Posts, Family Business, Leadership, Legacy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Talk to Me

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Denise Federer

The art of asking the right questions to ensure culture fit As a business consultant, I’m rarely surprised to discover that a culture issue is the root of a business or personnel problem. I am continually surprised, however, to see businesses fail to learn from their hiring and/or communication mistakes and repeat the process over and over. Culture is crucial to success in any business, large or small, privately or publicly held. Yet too few business leaders concentrate on culture fit during the hiring … Read More >

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Critical Principles for Mentoring the Next Generation

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Denise Federer

Mentorship is crucial for the next generation of leaders. Whether the younger generation is being groomed to take over a family business or simply graduate into a leadership position at a closely held or public company, the knowledge and wisdom of the current generation is imperative to the younger generation’s success. I have found in my work, however, that many mentor-mentee relationships suffer from a variety of roadblocks, leaving both mentor and mentee frustrated and disenfranchised. The generational divide is often the main driver … Read More >

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