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Bought and Sold

About a week and a half ago, it was announced that the company that I work for was being purchased by a large multi-billion dollar firm.

Turnabout is fair play, I guess. I have been on both sides of acquisitions in my career, since 1997 exclusively in the role of the acquirer. What's interesting is the perspective you have depending on your specific situation. Following is a subset of the infinite number of personal and business situations and a take on what might be the feelings of the acquired employees in each situation:

• Acquired company is in financial trouble; acquirer is known as a fast moving, exciting place to work: I still have a job! And a future!

• Acquired company is not in financial trouble; acquirer is known as a fast moving, exciting place to work: This may not be so bad. Maybe there will be even more upside.

• Acquired company may or may not be in financial trouble, acquirer has the same initials as the state of California: Woe be to all ye who venture forth. For I have brought the gates of Hades to the corporeal realm!

• Acquired company is in financial trouble, acquirer is a staid but respectable player in the industry: This may not be so bad. Let's see how this plays out.

• Acquired company is not in financial trouble, acquirer is a staid but respectable player in the industry: This is an endgame? Anticlimactic. Guess I'll take a "wait and see" attitude.

• Acquired company may or may not be in financial trouble, acquirer is the largest software company on the planet: I don't want to live in Redmond! Who the hell can afford a house in Redmond! What about my kids, my family, my friends, my life! MY CODE!!!

You get the idea. There is an entire spectrum of emotions that one could experience depending on their specific situation. So given my situation, here are mine.

I've worked at my current place of employment for 6 years. When I came on board, we were a going concern, but by no means was our future assured. We had about 150 employees and we partnered with whichever industry players we could get to sign an agreement. It was kind of like being a cat migrating with a herd of elephants. One wrong move and you're road kill. But damn, what a great feeling! It was exciting. People knew each other and everyone pulled together. We had what in military circles is known as "esprit de corps". And you know what? We still do. Even though we now have over 1000 employees. I don't know everyone in the company anymore, but it's amazing how many people I get to interact with. And our start-up culture is now so ingrained that people who are too political or who avoid accountability are quickly discovered and marginalized. That's not nearly as brutal as it sounds. Our culture is to have a great work/life balance and just about everyone buys into that; but we're not the type of place where you can just show up in the morning, do nothing, and nobody will notice. If you truly take pride in your work, and you have some modicum of self-motivation, our company is a great place to work.

Now it's 2007. We're certainly not an industry titan, but we definitely have an impact; we make a difference. We have a respectable market share in certain segments, so other players have to pay attention to us. And we're still growing. We've been successful, with a great management team that has deftly navigated some pretty tricky waters. We’ve avoided those elephants and even danced with a few of them. So I guess I knew that sooner or later a larger player would pull the trigger. I even thought I was ready if it happened. But the thing is; I had never been emotionally attached to a company before. It’s harder than I thought.

During the workday, I am moving forward. Work occupies my mind and nothing much has changed. I honestly doubt that much will change in the day to day life of the employees. But it is still the end of an era, and the greatest experience of my 28 year career.

If in the years to come my work is 1/2 as fulfilling as it has been in the last six, I will consider myself exceptionally lucky.

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Comments (1)

the fantabulous wondergirl:

The part about CA made me laugh, I'm glad the last 6 yrs have made u so happy

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on February 7, 2007 9:28 PM.

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