AA230 - The Human Cost Of M&A: When Good People Turn Against Each Other Arguing Agile podcast

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AA230 - The Human Cost of M&A: When Good People Turn Against Each Other

5d ago 1:11:22

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Ever wondered why mergers and acquisitions turn good people against each other?
In this deep dive, we explore the systematic destruction of workplace relationships after an M&A.
From sponsors-turned-foes to information warfare, discover why even the most collaborative cultures become pathological survival games.
Key Topics:
• Why M&As create artificial scarcity and paranoia
• The sponsor-turned-foe phenomenon
• Information as currency and weapon
• Blame archaeology and scapegoating
• The performance of fake collaboration
• How PE controls destroy generative cultures
Whether you're facing an acquisition or leading through one, this episode reveals the uncomfortable truths about corporate transformation.
#MergersAcquisitions #Leadership #CorporateCulture
LINKS
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com

REFERENCES

Arguing Agile 61: Experiences in Corporate Buyouts (Mergers & Acquisitions)
Arguing Agile 96: Stages of Company Decline, or When Companies Hate Their Customers
Arguing Agile 217: Extreme Ownership Military Leadership Lessons
Arguing Agile 219 - How Private Equity Killed Instant Pot (And Why Your Product Could Be Next)
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games (2008)
Marty Cagan - Transformed: Moving to the Product Operating Model (2024)

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Chapters

1. Intro: Episode 61 (00:00:00)

2. Friends and Foes: A Tangent (00:00:51)

3. This Intro Is Makin' Me Thirsty! (00:01:48)

4. Not a Bug, But a Feature (00:02:28)

5. The Hype Cycle (00:03:07)

6. 996 Culture (00:03:42)

7. Making Impact & Progress (00:04:26)

8. Culture Like Quicksand (00:06:54)

9. Tools of Control (00:07:36)

10. The Moral Leadership Dilemma (00:09:30)

11. Lucky to Be Here (00:10:28)

12. That's Just LIke, Your Opinion, Man! (00:11:24)

13. Start Up, Cash In, Sell Out, Bro Down (00:12:59)

14. Fear-Driven Development (FDD) (00:13:39)

15. The Sponsor-Turned-Foe Reveal (00:14:56)

16. Do-What-I-Say "Leadership" (00:16:22)

17. Moral Cowardice (00:16:58)

18. Principles At The Top (or Lack Thereof) (00:18:20)

19. Accountability (00:19:48)

20. The Cruelist Cut (00:21:09)

21. Pattern Recognition (00:22:19)

22. Documenting The Case Against (00:24:51)

23. Good Documentataion Practices (Might not mean anything) (00:26:17)

24. The Whisper Wars: Information as Currency (00:28:16)

25. JK, It's PE! (00:30:45)

26. Real Life Leadership Example (00:31:31)

27. Disinformation Campaigns (00:32:40)

28. Exit Strategies (00:34:23)

29. Survivor's Guilt and Greed (00:35:51)

30. The Nature of Competition (00:37:31)

31. Rationalizing Unethical Behavior (00:38:41)

32. Congrats! It's Your Last Day! (00:41:23)

33. Preemptive Backstabbing Culture (00:44:01)

34. In Defense of Companies (00:46:16)

35. Paranoia Culture (00:47:23)

36. Paranoia & Incentives (00:48:55)

37. Stifling The Good Ideas (00:50:06)

38. Blame Archeology Culture (00:51:10)

39. Retroactive Omniscience (00:53:05)

40. Simplify Complexity with Blame! (00:54:05)

41. Owning Failures to Which You Weren't Invited (00:55:37)

42. Blame + Projection = Scapegoating (00:58:11)

43. Collaboration Theater (01:00:09)

44. Open Conflict vs False Harmony (01:02:13)

45. Disagree and Shut-up (01:04:00)

46. The PE Hunger Games (01:05:33)

47. It's Not Personal, It's Systemic (01:06:47)

48. Comfort Level (01:09:06)

49. Wrap-Up (01:10:56)

230 episodes

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