The Merger Mindset - The Merger Mindset

This unique book helps decision-makers learn how to cope with the powerful undercurrents and interpersonal dynamics at play in the high-stakes realm of deals.

Never before has a book focused on the mindset leaders must have to make the right decisions and described the domains in which decisions are critical.

This unique book helps decision-makers learn how to cope with the powerful undercurrents and interpersonal dynamics at play in the high-stakes realm of deals.

Never before has a book focused on the mindset leaders must have to make the right decisions and described the domains in which decisions are critical.

THIS BOOK is for you if you are in a leadership position and want to sidestep the predictable, though invisible, traps in mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

WHEN YOU READ The Merger Mindset, you will come away with tools to help you deepen your understanding of what it takes to make deals succeed.

See the whole without getting lost

Improve critical thinking

Make tough calls

Keep and attract your ideal customers

Avoid invisible traps

Evaluate your own mindset

See the whole without getting lost

Improve critical thinking

Make tough calls

Keep and attract your ideal customers

Avoid invisible traps

Evaluate your own mindset

Since taking the helm at Belden in 2005, I have overseen 15 major acquisitions. Through trial and error, I learned the lessons Drs. Henman and Dierickx have taught in this book. Senior leaders who don’t have more than a decade to learn these lessons should read and heed the advice from these two psychologists.

John Stroup Belden Chairman and CEO

Too few people understand the psychology behind buying and selling companies, but Drs. Henman and Dierickx, do. They don’t explain the technicalities of deal. Instead, they concentrate on what must happen in the minds of decision-makers to ensure success for all concerned.

Kevin Short

Chief Executive Officer, Clayton Capital Partners, Author, Sell Your Business for an Outrageous Price: An Insider’s Guideto Getting More Than You Ever Thought Possible

Study after study puts strategic risk above all other enterprise risks combined, and M&A transactions are a key component of strategic risk. From cognitive biases to culture and talent, The Merger Mindset shows the reader how to avoid common pitfalls and focus on key success drivers. In a masterful way, Dierickx and Henman share their words of wisdom with practical case studies, interesting anecdotes, and amusing quotes.

James Lam

Author, Implementing Enterprise Risk Management
Chairman, Risk Oversipt Committee. ETRADE Financial; Independent Director, RiskLem. Inc.

We talk about “the art of the deal” as though it’s a Faustian bargain, a Mephistophelian dance with the devil. And small wonder—most deals fail to meet expectations, and many fail, period. Chrysler and Mercedes once “merged” though Mercedes actually swallowed Chrysler, and everyone lost money. We need to study the art and science of the deal, and Dr. Henman and Dr. Dierickx are the experts in that realm. Don’t read about how deals are made. Read herein when and why they’re successful. The devil is actually in the details.

Alan Weiss, PhD

Author, Million Dollar Consulting and over 60 other works in 15 languages

Mergers and acquisitions are some of the most high-stakes events in a leader’s career. To see around corners and avoid hidden pitfalls, you want experts on your side – and you can’t do better than Drs. Constance Dierickx and Linda Henman. Their deep expertise will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Dorie Clark

Adjunct professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and author, Entrepreneurial You and Stand Out

Mergers and acquisitions are major events in the life of an organization. I have come to appreciate that while the technical aspects, such as valuation and contracting are vital, they are insufficient. In The Merger Mindset, Dr. Dierickx and Dr. Henman articulate what it takes to make deals work-a holistic view and tolerance for ambiguity. Too often leaders look for a blueprint when what they need is the right mindset.

Steve McElhiney

Chief Executive Officer, EWI Re, Inc

Mergers and acquisitions are often viewed through the lens of valuation and terms of the deal. Yet, whether a deal succeeds has as much to do with what is unknown and as what is disclosed or revealed in the process. Uncovering the organizational dynamics, leadership habits and unconscious assumptions of even the best-intended people requires more than a plan. The Merger Mindset describes these dynamics and what to do to reduce the risks inherent in deals.

Patrick Brennan

Senior Vice President – Operations, Cox Automotive

Constance and Linda have done a masterful job at both, sketching a broad framework and providing indispensable detail on every crucial element required for M&A success. Whether you are new to the world of M&A or a seasoned veteran, Constance and Linda’s insight will keep you out of the ditches and between the guardrails.

Gregory Kozicz Ph. D.

President and CEO, Alberici Corporation

CONSTANCE DIERICKX, PhD

was given the moniker The Decision Doctor® by a client who tells his colleagues that she “pulled his deal out of the ditch.”

Constance began her M&A work in 1999 when she helped with the merger that formed Reckett-Benckister, a deal that doubled share price in two years after the deal.

Since then she has worked with clients on deals at all stages from strategy through integration and beyond. Her clients succeed 400% more often than the average because she helps leaders focus on the critical decisions they must make including who needs to do what, when, and how.
constancedierickx.com

LINDA HENMAN, PhD

known as the Decision Catalyst®, is the founder of the Henman Performance Group, a leadership consulting firm located in St. Louis, MO. Linda helps leaders make decisions on issues that they must get right and can’t afford to get wrong. In more than 35 years, none of her hundreds of projects has failed. She has worked with more than 80 clients in 13 industries including Avon, Emerson, Estee Lauder, Kraft, and Tyson.

Linda works with those in the c-suite to help them make decisions on issues like business growth, Mergers & Acquisitions, and succession planning. She was one of eight succession planning experts who worked directly with John Tyson after his company’s acquisition of International Beef Products—one of the most successful acquisitions of the 21st Century. henmanperformancegroup.com

The Merger Mindset is the only book on Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures that describes how the human processes of perception, cognition, and emotion influence the decisions leaders make, whether they are aware of them or not.

The Merger Mindset illuminates how psychology gets down to business, why it matters, and why it should matter to you.

The Merger Mindset will help people who read it, regardless of their role, to understand more about the predictable challenges, the emotional nature of deals that influences them before, during, and certainly afterwards. Leaders, executives, and board directors should buy this book for themselves and for their teams so that collectively, everyone has the necessary mindset for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.