When I get the phone call from potential clients, they are already well into the integration phase of their projects. Alas, things have already gone off the rails and they need help. This is either due to blowing past their project milestones, hit a skills gap, or reach a technical impasse.

By this time, it is usually too late to correct their chosen approach, and the project is in jeopardy.

Looking at their original choices, I’m left scratching my head wondering why they went the route they did. Sometimes it is because it was the only thing they know how to do, and thought it would apply in this scenario. Other times they heard the approach as the latest of industry best practices, but didn’t realize what the full ramifications would be given their current culture.

If only there was some way to whisper in their ear in the beginning:

  • They will be wasting money by over-provisioning new infrastructure they don’t need
  • Review the custom applications and evaluate how it would fit completely in the acquired ecosystem without just doing a lift and shift
  • They have other internal initiatives in-flight that will impact the expected integration timeline beyond the end of the agreed upon transition date.

To mitigate this, I’ve been working on a crib sheet (or score card) to provide a high-level overview during due-diligence (leading up to and including the Day 0 close). It won’t be enough to tank a deal (that isn’t its purpose). It is to set expectations and know what needs to be addressed in order for the acquisition to succeed.

After all, wouldn’t it be nice to get a heads up in the beginning before you bump into them in the middle of the project?

As a part of this week’s festivities, I’m releasing a sample of it, and going forward, will be using this as a tool to play around with some of our sample scenarios going forward.

If you like it or feel like there’s something off, I’d love to know.