In between 6am alarm snoozes, I noticed some new text messages on my iPhone. They were tweets from my boss (yes, I have my boss’s tweets texted to my phone…) saying that our big company had been acquired by an even bigger company for X amount of dollars. Now, if that doesn’t make a person wake up, I don’t know what does!! I fired up my laptop and read the news via email from our CEO, various links on twitter and our official press releases.
As I attempted to wrap my pre-coffee brain around this, I started to go through all the emotions: surprise/shock, anger, fear, acceptance, a glimmer of optimism and hope. The first images to pop up in my head were similar to the aforementioned ones and were mostly doom and gloom. That’s when the questions began swirling in my head…
What Does This Mean For Me??
First, my mind was fixated on questions related to, “What does this mean for me??” Immediately I wanted details on how this would change my world. I was asking things like: Will my job be eliminated? Will my benefits change? Will my salary change? Will I still work in the same place? Will I still work for the same person?
After a shower, I realized these questions were completely futile until a few weeks had gone by. There was truly nothing I could do right at that moment. I’d done well in my previous role and was showing promise in my new one. I told myself to have confidence in my performance and know that I deserved to be a part of this gigantic conglomerate. Positive Note: this even bigger company has operations in way more countries and does all kinds of different things which could mean for incredible job opportunities for me.
What Does This Mean For My Company??
Next, my mind fixated on questions related to, “What does this mean for my company??” Again I wanted details about things like: Will there be mass layoffs and reorgs? What will our company’s name be? Will we get to keep our headquarters building? Will our founder still be able to come in and eat lunch with everyone????
As I drove to work, I realized that change in an acquisition is inevitable, but the amount of change in this situation couldn’t be determined until more information is released. Again, I decided that asking these questions was completely futile at this point in the game.
Midmorning I went downstairs to watch the companywide call aired on TVs throughout the campus. The message from our leaders was clear: this is a great opportunity for both companies and we are to carry on like business as usual. We were acquired not by a competitor but by a company looking to expand their footprint in our market. By joining forces, we can now better serve our clients and become a global leader in our market. Positive Note: the potential for innovation in our industry is huge.
I walked away feeling less doom and gloom and more hopeful. There are going to be growing pains and big changes, but the potential for great things to happen is apparent. We’ll see where this goes and where I fit in with it…
Acquisition? Let's Shake on That
I want to hear from anyone else who has been part of an acquired company. Did you have a positive or negative experience? Did you go through similar emotions? Did you ask yourself similar questions to me? Did your leaders assure you things were going to be alright and did they deliver on their words?