The Munich Leadership Group focuses on two key situations:

1. Two companies or parts of a company (also within a single company) that are already operating in the market merge.
2. A (usually new) organization is to be created in which intercultural collaboration will be a key success factor.

Re. A.

Mergers today pose a wide range of organizational challenges for those in charge. While the first phase in the structural architecture of a merger requires extensive legal and management expertise, the actual outcome is not apparent until several months or years later.

• Did they succeed in merging the previously often very different cultures in the former units into a strong new, forward-looking unit? Or are the key players in the units still mentally clinging to a "glorious past" and using nearly every available opportunity to show this in the way they act?
• Has the right amount of tension developed to ensure attentive and flexible collaboration between the units? Or has the nest-building approach generally set in again following the first big wave of excitement?
• The Munich Leadership Group possesses the appropriate intercultural psychological expertise, years of experience and broad selection of methods to provide the support needed in merger projects. In doing so, we often take on the role of "culture experts" within the framework of the merger as a whole, and work extensively on the overall "screenplay" – comprehensively tailored to different size scales, from individual high-performance teams all the way up to entire companies.
• Example of these kinds of projects:
• Within a company: Restructuring a total of five divisions/departments no fewer than three times, including two name changes and, ultimately, a spinoff, all within the span of two years, in Germany and the US.
• Between two companies: Providing merger support for all parties involved in a heating appliance manufacturer's acquisition of a (larger) competitor in Turkey.

Re. B.

Companies establish legally independent units in various countries, and these units are expected to live the seasoned company culture in their own cultural environment right from the start. This creates very special intercultural challenges. In these cases, project support that begins on day one has proven to be an effective method.
However, difficulties resulting from intercultural issues can occur just as frequently in existing businesses.
The Munich Leadership Group supports collaboration development from the leadership perspective, and works with the basic model of "backbone leadership." We examine the extent to which the following four points are realized or taken into account:

1. Giving orientation:
   
   Are there catchy and vivid statements about the future? Are expectations clearly defined? Do those in charge set an example as regards the desired attitude?
   
   
2. Reducing complexity:
   
   Does the information provided generate clarity or confusion? Do the new organizational units address the special aspects of the situation and then reduce the organizational complexity to a minimum, or do the intense activity and increasing awareness lead to ever more bureaucracy – and thus impede progress?
   
   
3. Making decisions:
   
   Is decision-making quick and transparent? Are the decisions communicated effectively? Is there a clear connection between the decisions and the overarching strategy? Or must everything first be laboriously examined by steering committees and other bodies, and documented and confirmed through opinions of various external experts?
   
   
4. Empowering people:
   
   Are participants involved in the process in a way that motivates them? Are the goals and the vision and mission of everyone's actions clear to them? Does every individual have the opportunity to grow into new tasks and to carry out an individual development plan, if appropriate? Is sufficient consideration given to individual concerns of key players – not in the sense of "we have to please everyone," but rather with a clear and consistent focus on maximizing the overall performance of the system? Does everyone have a personal standard by which to measure his/her success and its impact on the system as a whole?

Examples of these kinds of projects:

• Aligning the central production line of a major German OEM that had acquired an American company years earlier and now wanted to set up its global lead there to serve as a model for all of its other production lines around the world.
• Supporting a German company in setting up one of the world's most modern steel/cold-rolling plants in the US.
• Resolving intercultural conflicts relating to a German leadership team in an Asian setting.
• Assessing and realigning a global manufacturer's strategically important US branch office of German origin.