Dear Bob ...My company recently merged with another company. By all accounts, it seems to be a good fit. There seems to be little overlap in products between the 2 companies.I've heard many people say that they've seen good and bad mergers. My question for you is what are the qualities of good and bad mergers, so I can keep an eye out.So far it's been good. There has been good communication from the executives. Dear Bob …My company recently merged with another company. By all accounts, it seems to be a good fit. There seems to be little overlap in products between the 2 companies.I’ve heard many people say that they’ve seen good and bad mergers. My question for you is what are the qualities of good and bad mergers, so I can keep an eye out. So far it’s been good. There has been good communication from the executives. But a lot of the things the employees want to know about, they can’t tell us yet.Thanks,– Merged Dear Merged …Assuming we’re talking about a “real” merger, where the two companies plan to combine as much of their operations as possible and not simple have common ownership, I think there are just a few things to look out for: Cultural compatibility: This is the biggest barrier to successful mergers. If the two companies have radically different styles, the chance of succeeding at combined operations is low. Overcoming radically different cultures requires very strong leadership. Avoiding the perception that one of the two merging companies is the winner: Usually, the employees in the two companies that are merging will feel a sense of rivalry with each other. To combat this, the leaders of the combined companies must make decisions that are very clearly in the best interests of the new, merged company and not merely the preference of whichever of the two ends up with more clout in the combined operation. Quick establishment of the new organization’s identity: It’s hard for employees to let go of their loyalties to their old employers. Unless the leaders of the new company establish a strong identity … yes, and brand … for the new corporation for employees to latch onto, they’ll spend too much time and energy being unhappy about what they are leaving behind. A sense of opportunity: Closely tied to creating strong identity for the new company is creating the sense among employees that this gives each of them more personal opportunity than they had before. I’m sure there’s more, of course. But if the above seems to be the case, then the merger has a very good chance of succeeding (at least, it would seem to based on what I know about the subject). – Bob Technology Industry