We all SAY integration is an imperative when companies merge. But talk is cheap. The proof is in the planning and execution, as one Fortune 500 company learned too late.

Company A acquired Company B, one of its biggest competitors. Each had offices throughout the country. The companies had often competed for the same accounts and had very different business philosophies. Still, top management left the crucial integration process to the local branches. Some did better than others; often, all that got integrated was the furniture.

Thrown together with little or no preparation, employees who had once competed were now expected to collaborate. With harmony just a vague ideal, the long-standing rivalry and contrasting philosophies festered...finally erupting at a joint sales presentation to a major client.

Toward the end of the presentation, Company A and Company B representatives got into a heated debate on the merits of their contrasting approaches.

"This is our account." Company B challenged its Company A associates. "We know how to service it!" It had been one of Company B's biggest accounts at the time of the merger.

"Well, we bought you! So, you'll do it our way," said Company A.

The disillusioned client, realizing this was not a team, replied, "See you around. I'm taking my business to Company C."

Has your company laid the groundwork for successful integration?

You don't often see open conflict in sales presentations. No matter; veiled distrust, fear, and anger often lie festering under the surface. Time and turnover may heal these wounds. In the mean time, your company's most visible representatives are walking wounded. Basic integration planning and team building could have kept them healthy from the start.

Don't put it off! Like organ rejection, internal discord can poison the entire structure. When one faction "wins" at the expense of the other, everyone loses, no matter who bought whom. Enlightened integration planning cultivates a win-win situation. Nurture your merger and you'll get the best of both companies.

Recommended reading: Joining Forces: Making One Plus One Equal Three in Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances., Mitchell Lee Marks and Philip H. Mirvis, 1998.