Managing Through Change: The First 48 Hours after an Acquisition

On Monday, January 29, 2007, and throughout the next 48 hours, Rick McCord was a very busy guy. The vice president of global channel sales and alliances spent the whirlwind time managing the reactions of employees and partners concerning the news of Symantec’s acquisition of his employer, Altiris, Inc., the Lindon, Utah-based IT management software company.

McCord took the news with a certain sense of déjà vu, as this acquisition was not his first. And, because his past experience in another company years before was less than stellar, he took great pains—and traveled many miles—to ensure a successful announcement this time around.

With just two acquisitions under his belt, McCord might not be considered an expert. But his management of the Symantec news, so far, deserves praise—both his staff and his partners (and the press) handled it well. This certainly helped eliminate any backlash and can pave the way for a successful completion of the deal and transition period afterwards.

Here are Rick McCord’s three priorities for any channel executive walking the precarious path through an acquisition.

1. Have a communication plan in place.
McCord was one of a tiny, select group at Altiris who was aware of the deal as it was going down. He worked behind the scenes to coordinate internal and external messaging and the timing of each step along the way.

"I needed to have a communication plan in place, without a lot of resources internally because no one could know what was going on. It was tough," he admits.

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