Joining Forces: Making One Plus One Equal Three in Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Philip H. Mirvis (Author) "One plus one equals three. Billions of dollars and millions of jobs hinge on fulfilling this equation and the hope that a combination of two..." (more)
Key Phrases: postcombination organization, postcombination phase, precombination phase, First Interstate, United States, Wells Fargo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mitchell Lee Marks and Philip H. Mirvis, who separately and together have worked on more than 50 major corporate "marriages," offer a useful distillation of the myriad lessons they've learned about this vital and increasingly common business activity in Joining Forces: Making One Plus One Equal Three in Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances. By examining their own projects, along with various other winners and losers, they've identified a number of specifics that can help ensure that such combinations ultimately succeed. Included are details on preparation, managing transition, minimizing stress, and developing an entirely new culture.

From Publishers Weekly

The "one plus one equal three" of the subtitle is the authors' way of signaling that they are focusing here on business combinations that aim to "build some strength or capacity greater than that present in the partners as independent organizations." Marks (From Turmoil to Triumph) and Mirvis (coauthor of Managing the Merger), both management consultants, cover the basics of preparing for a successful combination of businesses in the form of a merger, acquisition or alliance. In their straightforward approach, they discuss the need for due diligence at the outset, and they explain that there must be a lot of psychological work to communicate clearly what is going on to all concerned and to ensure that the companies joining forces can peacefully coexist. Why the need for such careful planning? Because, the authors point out, "more than three quarters of corporate combinations fail to attain projected business results." Succeeding parts of the book take readers through the steps of building a new culture for the combined organizations and reaping the rewards of the union. This insightful guide should aid all managers involved in joining forces.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (December 26, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787903507
• ISBN-13: 978-0787903503
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,275 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights into mergers and aligning business processes., March 6, 1999

By A Customer

Discusses the strategic advantages of companies merging or aligning business processes. The authors provide guidelines for making these arrangements successful. The book covers factors driving combination activity and delves into the details of the process, from initial planning and cultural due diligence to the integration of structures, policies, and practices. The authors also give guidelines on assisting in the subtle, delicate process of psychological adjustment. Recommended.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear, concise and on target!, December 5, 2000

By	Nathan Thomas (New York City) - See all my reviews

In 1998, Marks/Mirvis and Clemente/Greenspan set the M&A world on its head with two very different yet equally groundbreaking books. The former pair's pioneering guide focused on preparing for the transition, team building, and identifying psychological barriers, while the latter duo revealed the secrets behind successfully combining cultures, strategies and processes in their timeless classic-- Winning at M&A. I've read them both many times -before, -during and -after each of my firm's acquisitions, and while new copy-cats and rip-offs continue to be published, no books as effectively walk the reader through the problems, their detailed solutions, and most importantly -- the real-life examples that offer step-by-step guidance on how to succeed. Deals fail all the time and these authors explain why and what they've done to turn failure into success. After each read, the information is still fresh, relevant and insightful. Virtually every other book on the subject is either fluff, history, or a cheap imitation. This is the real deal.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real World of Mergers, March 29, 2000

By	Douglas B. Gehrman (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

Marks and Mirvis are veterans of the merger battlefield and report the action extremely well. The book is filled with examples and approaches to resolving some of the most common problems encountered when two firms integrate. The other plus about the book is its heavy emphasis on the people and cultural issues that so often get ignored in most corporate combinations.