If I wasn’t already excited about the potential for 2010 to be a better year, the start of February cemented it. Three mega-deals were announced the first week of February by Monster, Manpower and Spherion,respectively.

Details on each here:

• Monster & Hotjobs
• Manpower buys Comsys
• Spherion buys Tatum

Why should I be happy you ask? I guess I’ll respond with, in a sense I know better. While each of these deals promises something on the order of enhanced earnings, scale and service line extension, etc. for the acquirers (any of which may become true); the actual result in the short to medium term will be confusion, disruption and internal/cultural unrest. Sounding cynical, no? I fundamentally believe this will be the outcome as in 99% of large organizations, the focus is on getting the deal done (& I should know since I did M&A for a career) instead of the critical and hard tasks of real integration. And I am not speaking of functional, technical and legal integration – I mean the true cultural focus, communication of a real
combined vision and concrete plans to assimilate the best of each
player.

At best there is a “company line” on both sides for the deal, unfortunately with no true examples actually put into action, at worst, the “company line” is a complete sham vs the strategic imperative for the deal (like maybe Monster can get the top volume spot back from indeed.com for a short time, assuming that really matters). Either way, the people in the trenches all know some version of the truth, and perhaps worse in some cases, do not care. [hmm, like...how are you really feeling if you work at hotjobs right now]

So, what does that mean for the rest of us? Well, as bad and frustrating it can be to be inside of these organizations, the disruptions will create a number of opportunities for those in the same
or adjunct spaces.

• Their focus will become internal, allowing for others to pick off client relationships while they are not staying customer minded
• Key members of these organizations will be uncomfortable or unhappy in the resulting combinations or with the uncertainty created – a
  chance to poach top performers
• Their messaging will likely be muddled – internal as well as external, providing an opportunity to provide clarity of solution to
  prospects in stark contrast
• The deals will force the management teams at times to take their eye off the ball – and miss changes in the market as they strive to
  justify the purchases & accretion irrespective of actual business
  performance.

So, if you are in any of the many related industries, take heart and go get some business this year! There is great chance that you will be able to leverage these mega-attention sucks and succeed in your chosen markets. Additionally, you can look to pull top talent during the unrest to enhance your team. If you are at one of these firms…..sorry for the dig – take this as a warning: my suggestion is do your best to not let all of this get in the way of your own personal success and focus.