How to Be Acquired
16 February, 2021

Vice President of Engineering at Olly Olly
Problem
I moved to Pittsburgh, PA, for a VP of Software Development role at a Fintech SaaS company to help them bring their new platform to market. Software & Quality Engineering were my responsibility with a plan of taking over DevOps and Project Management. Two months into my new role, my new company sold my team and product. After the sale, morale took a dip. The new company demoted me, reduced my salary by 30%, broke the group into functional silos, jettisoned the new platform, reduced headcount, and installed heavier processes.
Actions taken
What not to do
My initial reaction was wrong - anger. The demotion and reduction in salary and scope left a bad taste in my mouth. I resented the acquisition and lost focus, resulting in a slower, more painful integration with the new company, and the team suffered.
What to do
Take ownership of the acquisition and the success of you and your team’s transition. Be purposeful about learning the culture, establishing relationships, and shielding your team.
-
Culture. Embrace the new values. I looked for overlaps in my new company’s values and the old, and then I sought ways to live and promote the new set of ideals.
-
Relationships. I built a connection with different peers involved in various projects; they became a go-to person for technical and organizational questions.
-
Shielding. Acquisitions can bring rapid change leading to turmoil. Immediately, the new company changed our tooling, processes, and organizational structure. While the disruptions were bad, they could have been worse. I did my best abstract away process changes, so the team could focus on building software. For example, the new company had different ticket flows for features and customer bugs. We had one flow for all work. I was able to identify a way to keep our single flow approach and still produce the new company’s desired outcomes.
Lessons learned
You have to accept the acquisition; your new company and the team deserve the best version of you. Be a servant leader - focus on helping the team through this challenging period and not personal things out of your control. Ask the acquiring company what their list of must-have changes are and implement them immediately. I made the mistake of waiting to see what comes next, causing the transition to take way too long. If I had asked upfront, we could have ripped the bandaid and moved on in weeks instead of months.
Discover Plato
Scale your coaching effort for your engineering and product teams
Develop yourself to become a stronger engineering / product leader
Related stories
21 March
A short overview of a very effective leadership assessment by Jack Welch, that is easily transferred to other industries is the 4Es of leadership – energy, energize, edge, and execution.

Ramesh Dewangan
CEO at Quantum Vision Consulting
21 March
Based on an awesome book titled "Deep Work" by Cal Newport we provide provide a brief overview of the Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

Ramesh Dewangan
CEO at Quantum Vision Consulting
21 March
Is it possible to be too empathetic? If you overdo it, it can be an energy sucker.

Melanie Zens
Delivery & Operations / Digital Transformation / Innovation at Marais Consulting Inc
20 March
Learn about 10 rules from the wisdom of these long-living residents from Ogimi, a small village in Okinawa, Japan. You could interpret the rules as the lifestyle habits that enable the senior residents of Ogami to live long and enjoy their ikigai.

Ramesh Dewangan
CEO at Quantum Vision Consulting
7 March
3 ways leaders can cultivate relationships that lead to better products.

Guy Jenkins
SVP Global Customer Experience at Salesforce