SCOTT HILL

Founder and national program director, Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On!

Organizationally, there is no easy integration plan between LeadShip Systems and Aquarius Modules to be made here. There seem to be at least five major obstacles: geography, language, programming expertise, programmer demographics and organizational approach. Any one of those issues by itself might justify backing away from the acquisition entirely. Sure, a failed merger might take the whole company down. But in this industry, doing nothing guarantees long-term irrelevance. Brad Geldersen, LeadShip CEO, needs to integrate Aquarius’ modules and expertise into his company, and fast. His customer base, future revenues and livelihood depend on it.

Since blending the organizations in the five areas above in such a short period of time probably isn’t realistic, Geldersen must focus on the outcome he requires: a blended software product, not a blended company. In this instance, his focus on the former should ultimately help to achieve the latter over time.

Next, he has to focus on what he can actually control, i.e., recognizing, accepting and rising up in his role as leader. It takes an incredible leader to be able to build a team through these types of challenges. Leaders can take their teams through circumstances that are not ideal by relying on pure knowledge, honest communication and trust.

Geldersen must understand and share the big picture — including the series of events that led to this point, and his vision for the final product — with each team. All must clearly understand the need for the product integration. He should willingly share information about industry history, market forces, customer demands, competition and costs. He’ll have to address many concerns about the internal challenges associated with integrating these products and cultures. Any obstacles should be anticipated, identified and framed as minor roadblocks along the path to a better place. Eventually, his honesty, pure knowledge and genuine communication will result in acquiring the trust of his team. There is no other way.

Once he earns their trust, he’ll need to give them his. Trust is the highest form of human motivation. Empower the teams to make a plan themselves to work together. Consider the plan