Challenge yourself
When considering an acquisition, Holcombe wants managing members of all departments at Syniverse to come to the conclusion that it’s a good move.
The “conclusion” factor is an important element in the vetting process. Holcombe doesn’t want a bunch of ministers preaching to a like-minded choir. He wants debate, opposing viewpoints and some amount of disagreement. If those differences among the leadership team can be ironed out over time, it’s probably the right move. If the differences can’t be resolved, it’s time to step back and figure out why.
“Everybody needs to have that ownership,” Holcombe says. “From the sales leaders to technology leaders, office leaders, finance, human resources, legal, everybody has to own their piece of that integration. We all have to come to an agreement that this is a good deal, we all have to agree that we can make it work.”
To ensure that the various departments within Syniverse communicate with one another, Holcombe’s merger and acquisition team work as part of the leadership team, not as a separate field unit that beats the bushes for purchase opportunities, then hands them over to upper management.
“We don’t do what I’ve seen a lot of companies do,” he says. “We don’t have an M&A team that just goes out and buys things, kind of throws them over the wall and says, ‘OK, we think this is a good idea; now you guys figure it out.’ My M&A team is part of the executive team, and we all figure it out together. The ownership is established, everyone has bought in to it, and if some members of the executive team think this isn’t going to work, we hash that out before we buy the acquisition. That is the key to making sure we get it right.”
Holcombe wants the initial discussions between members of upper management to create a hypothesis of how the acquisition will be integrated into the company. With that basic assumption in place, he and his leadership team set about challenging the assumption throughout the due diligence process. As questions arise and new information is gathered by the due diligence research team, the assumption is refined and, in most cases, dissenters have their concerns satisfied.
However, discussion and research must lead to an ultimate decision. As the leader, that responsibility falls on your shoulders.
“We’ll talk through why someone doesn’t agree with a certain area, we’ll bring our due diligence team back together for more information,” Holcombe says. “We may adjust the thought process about how we’re going to pull it all together. But it’s also my responsibility as CEO to say, ‘OK, we’ve debated it; I need to make the call.’”
In the end, if debate and discussion lead nowhere constructive, you’re probably not headed down the right growth path for your company.
“If you don’t have that high degree of buy-in from your team, chances are you’re not doing the type of deal you need to do, and you might think about trying other things with your time and effort,” he says. “But you do want to get everyone involved. You want everyone on the leadership team to have the same information. You want to give everyone a chance to vocalize their issues or concerns. You want the team to own the decision, not just one individual.”
