Article at a glance:

The elusive art of postmerger leadership

• Businesses are much better than they used to be at capturing synergies following a merger. Yet many combinations that are deemed financially successful in the short term ultimately destroy value, damage brands, and compromise customer relationships.
• What's frequently missing is a well-defined role for the leadership team—a role that complements the technical efforts of the integration team and focuses on intangible (and often unexpected) issues.
• The key challenges for the CEO are rapidly creating a cohesive and well-functioning top team, developing an inspiring "story" to drive the communications effort, shaping a strong performance culture, actively championing the interests of external stakeholders, and balancing quick moves with wisdom gained from experience.