Sage is a global software business, but with so many acquisitions, it has lacked a united culture. As Mary Welch reports in the July 18th issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the company “is redefining itself as an entity greater than its parts.”
To retain the success of acquisitions, organizations tend to leave them alone for awhile to avoid disrupting their productive operations. But now for Sage, building a global brand will require some disruption in order to build a united culture. There are real benefits to collaborating across acquisitions and business units. A company often starts with a re-branding effort to jump start the process, but that’s just an image adjustment. Real synergies and prosperity will only be derived from an internal process of building a united culture.
Including the people of all acquisitions–the entire organization–in defining the Sage culture that all will share may be the formula for uniting employees and making the brand a seamless and customer-focused solution for those they seek to serve. The process of building a united culture is much more than a re-branding effort. It is an internal process to define, shape and manage organizational culture. By building this shared foundation, a united effort can be realized.
