Despite studies showing that over 70% of business relationships fail over time and less than 10% deliver to or above original expectations, the professional services sector is currently undergoing a rapid period of consolidation.
In the absence of an extensive body of literature on such mergers, why not tap into distilled wisdom from the related field of strategic partnerships between corporates? Such partnerships, according to Ian Davis, only work when you care about the interests and outcomes of your partners as much as you do your own: giving; trusting; being respectful; being committed; being humble; and always wanting to learn.
How many mergers pass that tough test?
Our presenter, Luc Bardin, argued that strategic partnerships fail when they are approached as art rather than as science, driven by a focus on short term goals, and treated as ‘intuition’ rather than as a formal process.