I've spent more than 16 years working with organizational leaders in a leadership development capacity and managing company turnarounds and merger & acquisition integrations. 

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The skills required to lead companies  in chaos through change, whether it's a turnaround, M&A integration or a restructure comes from being thrown into the fire during time spent at a Fortune 500, who had acquired another popular brand. The result of the acquisition was costly and chaotic. Employees and union leadership were unhappy and it showed when this "new" business unit begin losing $800K/month.

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The environment was very combative, an "us vs them" environment at its worst. Employees from the acquired company didn't trust the leadership and the leadership didn't do much to build relationships either. As a result, employees didn't come to work and when they did show up they refused to work. Union leadership was uncooperative, and therefore, rarely were past practices, that contradicted best practices and new ways of working, given up.

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It took 18 longs months but we were able to turn the business around. What made the difference? The leadership. 

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Since leading that project I've learned that most turnarounds and integrations are chaotic, and are usually more work than leadership expects. Bringing two groups of employees together with two different cultures, and managers who aren't prepared to lead employees through change, is difficult. So I've made it my business to work with companies in chaos and more specifically, coaching managers to help them lead through these uncertain times.

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If your company is currently in chaos or the company is in distress, I'd love to partner with you to help you with your change management work. 

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For more information contact us at 630-274-5414 or robin@designorgsolns.com.