Jennifer J Fondrevay – Merger and Acquisition Human Capital Advisor and Keynote speaker
Human Capital Specialist, Jennifer Fondrevay, and Sales Strategist Amy Franko join Meridith Elliott Powell to talk about what it takes to adapt and remain a rock star in business today.
In this Q&A, LeadingPRINT sat down with Jennifer to get her thoughts on managing culture after a merger. Read the full pdf article here.
“If you are unable to communicate a clear vision for where the company is going so that the workforce can understand the new direction and embrace it, you can spend months of lost productivity.”
Jennifer J Fondrevay
See the full Leading Print spring issue here – Jennifer’s Q&A is on page 20.
Post mergers & acquisitions (M&A) onboarding is NOT your typical onboarding journey. However, intentional planning and appreciation for your new employees’ mindset can play a critical role in setting your new employees up for success.
In an M&A scenario, employees have not been actively recruited to join your company. The excitement and eagerness to “be part of the team” are not typically there. In fact, if the newly acquired company will be changing its name to the acquiring company, these new employees may even think about revolting. This reality requires a different mindset and approach as you onboard your employees.
Read all 5 best practices in my guest article for Silk Road Technologies.
Theresa Caragol, Founder and CEO of AchieveUnite, recently sat down with Mergers & Acquisitions expert and AchieveUnite Expert Community Member Jennifer Fondrevay to discuss the top considerations for technology companies to keep in mind as they undergo M&As.
In this episode, you’ll also learn why M&As fail, and you’ll walk away with relevant insights and best practices to help you successfully lead your employees, customers, and partner ecosystem through an M&A.
Integration of employees is such a critical aspect of any M&A transaction, yet most entrepreneurs spend too little time planning for and executing this element. The planning for this phase should start the moment you decide you’re going to pursue an acquisition, not when you’re already in due diligence. My guest, Jennifer Fondrevay, is an expert in the human capital aspect of M&A transactions. She’s personally been part of several large M&A transactions and has seen firsthand how the human capital piece can sour an entire deal.
Jennifer shares key insights on the most overlooked aspects of integrating people, best practices for handling human capital and how COVID has changed the landscape and the challenges it presents in truly analyzing this part of any deal. Jennifer is engaging forthrightly in her advice which comes from firsthand experience.
Read the full transcript here.
Jennifer joins Tammy Gooler Loeb on Work From the Inside Out.
Jennifer Fondrevay told me something that I have never before heard from a guest. As a young child, she wanted to become the Ambassador to France and even more remarkably she continued to have that goal throughout her college years into graduate school. Jennifer’s father is French and her grandmother lived with them until she was three years old, so she learned French first, English second. She majored in French and political science undergrad and then continued with her graduate studies at the Thunderbird School Of Global Management where she studied international business, specializing in marketing and advertising. Jennifer figured if the ambassadorship didn’t materialize, her fallback plan was in marketing or advertising. It appears to have worked out extremely well, although Jennifer’s Dad still hopes that she’ll pursue the diplomacy route one day.
In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Jennifer’s journey:
Jennifer returns to the Master Communicator podcast, joining host Stacey McKibbin for a fast-fire 6 questions in 10 minutes.
I was interviewed on the podcast, GOING SOLO: Building Your Own Successful Business After a Late Career Job Loss. Listen to host David Shriner-Cahn and me discuss strategies for listening for important clues about gaps in the marketplace LISTEN HERE
We discuss:
Jennifer recently spoke with Ridgely Dunn at Balodana.com about her unique Transformation Story.
When life hands you disruption, sometimes you run and sometimes you hide — and sometimes you stop to create brilliant solutions not just for yourself but for others. That’s pretty much how Jennifer Fondrevay rolls, and we’re delighted to share her Transformation Story today with you.
Before the life of an entrepreneur, Jennifer Fondrevay was a Fortune 500 Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) responsible for hundreds of employees and executive relationships alongside business success expectations. Following three significant M&A (Merger and Acquisition) experiences where large companies with differing cultures and values were forced to integrate (and she and others risked redundancy), Jennifer recognized the importance of a human-centric approach to business transformation, where employees are at the heart of the change.
Her original observations inspired her to write an article featured in Harvard Business Review, After a Merger, Don’t Let “Us vs. Them” Thinking Ruin the Company, which was received so well that it led to the creation of Jennifer’s first book and the launch of a professional speaking and business consultancy called Day1Ready.
In her best selling book “Now What? A Survivor’s Guide for Thriving Through Mergers & Acquisitions”, Jennifer helps leaders and team members navigate the stages of change and identify the personality types and behaviors that can make or break an organization in transition. In addition to consulting, she is a frequent contributor to Forbes, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Inc, Thrive Global, and American Marketing Association; a podcast guest and keynote speaker for HR conferences, associations and Fortune 500 companies.
BY JENNIFER J. FONDREVAY AND AMY FRANKO
Read the article on FastCompany.com 
Download the pdf version
As business strategies continue to shift and success metrics subsequently change, you can’t afford to stay stuck in your old way of doing things. The dramatically altered business and political landscape, along with the ubiquitous influence of digital in our lives, have decisively changed how a company succeeds. Companies in every industry around the world have had to adjust their metrics for success in some way. To be successful moving forward, you need to be smart on what the company now values and align your efforts with those objectives. If you don’t, you may end up as a former rock star.
We all probably know a rock star at work. Perhaps you identify as one. He or she can be high up the ladder or a high-potential leader on track to advance. They may be the top-performing sales leader or the product/marketing guru who has the ear of the CEO and the C-suite or is the proverbial “someone to watch” in the company. He or she could also be the industry specialist or innovator everyone goes to for new ideas. Strong and successful companies have rock stars across an organization, helping to drive the business forward. The trouble is, rock stars can stumble when the metrics for success suddenly change.
In my (Jennifer’s) consulting work with executives in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), I’ve seen too often the demise of the rock star. They become a former rock star because their attitude and behavior don’t adapt as the company’s growth strategies shift post-deal. What they believed to be important and valued at the company has been redefined and they struggle to redefine their role with it. In other words, they insist on playing hard rock, when everyone else has moved to disco. I’ve counseled many rock stars on how to stay on top of their game in times of change.
In Amy’s role as a rock-star sales performer early in her career and now a leading sales consultant, she’s equally seen top-performing sales professionals and leaders become former rock stars. They’re the sales performers who are reluctant to adapt their behavior because their formula for success got them to where they are. They’re used to getting the top sales awards every year based on that formula, so why would they change? Yet in today’s ever-changing business landscape, doing things as you have always done is no longer a recipe for success.
To stay valued at your company, and continue to be a top performer and “one to watch,” we suggest these five critical strategies:
SOLICIT OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE
It can be tough to let go of old routines or ways of doing things, especially if they made you successful. But routines can become ruts. Don’t be afraid to ask for an outside perspective. Whether you solicit coworkers, a coach, or your own informal “board of advisors,” an outside perspective can help identify a rut you are in as well as your most valuable skills, sometimes better than you can. This outside perspective can help you fixate less on past achievements and focus more on where your skills can contribute to future success. Rock stars are comfortable acknowledging what they don’t know and seeking advice to adapt.
ASSESS YOUR SKILLS AGAINST THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF THE COMPANY
The skills that have brought you success will need assessing and perhaps some fine-tuning as you evaluate your company’s expanding needs. Perhaps your organization has introduced new revenue models to adapt and stay competitive. When Amy was a top sales performer at IBM, she recalls the shift IBM made from having an exclusive channel-sales model to a hybrid channel/direct model in the face of mounting competitive disruption. The sales professionals and leaders who succeeded were those who cultivated their strongest skills while embracing new ones as they monitored shifts in the marketplace. You can future-proof your career by understanding which skills are a match today and take the initiative to upgrade the skills you need.
STAY MARKET FORWARD
In times of disruption, it’s easy to shrink back and wait it out. That approach won’t serve you. You’ll miss opportunities, and you’ll be behind when the disruption normalizes. Beyond that, customers may think your business is struggling if you aren’t proactively adapting and staying connected. Greg Cole, chief marketing officer and managing director of BKD CPAs & Advisors, leads marketing and learning initiatives for nearly 3,000 staff members and 300 partners. He had this to share: “High performers remain focused on client relationships, communication, and engagement. The greatest shift is a renewed effort in meaningful outreach done via multiple channels. Making time for these connections is paying big dividends.”
How to stay market forward? For one, stay market-educated, and keep your relationships active. Connect with your best customers on how you are adapting, and stay on top of how their needs are evolving. Second, maintain a strong digital presence, both as an organization and as an individual, reflecting what you and your business are doing and how you may be adapting offerings. Three, be proactive with top prospects. Just as your top client’s needs have likely changed, so too have your prospects.
PRACTICE AGILITY
Disruption of any kind is an opportunity to practice agility. That is your ability to pivot strategically and decisively, maybe more than once. This is true not just for a company but also for your own approach. Becoming more agile can take various forms: practicing with new methods and tools for collaborating with the product team, or reexamining the allocation of your marketing budget to seek more effective opportunities, or even moving a client through your sales process in a completely virtual manner.
Jen E. Miller, senior vice president of producer development at global insurance firm Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, works with nearly 1,000 producers and leaders on sales strategy and skill development. She observed: “Innovation and creativity will win the day here. Our leaders who are adapting, are willing to try new approaches, and who are assertive with new ideas are sustaining and growing business.”
Being more agile can expand your business as you serve current clients in new ways, while also gaining traction with prospects. One word of caution on this point: It’s always exciting to win a new client, but never before has it been more important to shore up current clients. Rock stars prioritize their top-tier customers by ensuring high levels of service that can lead to new opportunities.
BE A ROLE MODEL FOR THE ORGANIZATION
There’s no doubt that the sustained uncertainty we’ve all been facing takes a toll physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s never prudent to make potentially life-altering decisions about your career, a client, or a team member while fatigued, overwhelmed, or riding on emotion. Rock stars know this; they keep their emotions in check and view themselves as a role model for the organization. They appreciate that others are watching, listening to, and emulating them. Nothing undermines change and its adoption more than behaviors by key individuals that are inconsistent with their words.
Role model behavior includes informally mentoring others through the changes, offering new ideas or approaches when prior efforts aren’t working, and consistently building relationships internally as the business adapts. As leaders navigating change on the frontline, rock stars need to be passionate drivers—people who question the traditional way of doing things, dig into complex problems, stick with them until they are solved, and have an appetite to innovate. Rock stars stay future-focused rather than fixating on past achievements or approaches.
These strategies emphasize what it takes to adapt and remain a rock star as the business pivots. The key is in accepting and embracing the new metrics of success, understanding how your skills can uniquely contribute to the future, and role-modeling this adaptable behavior. Above all, rock star performers embrace the idea that they control their destiny and that the decisions they make today will create their success tomorrow.
Jennifer J. Fondrevay is the founder of Day1 Ready, an M&A consultancy focused on providing human capital strategies that retain deal value. Her book, Now What? A Survivor’s Guide for Thriving through Mergers & Acquisitions, guides executives and middle managers through the challenges of business transformation to retain talent and minimize loss in productivity.
Amy Franko is the founder of Amy Franko Associates, a sales consultancy focused on helping midmarket organizations grow sales results through strategy and skill development. Her book, The Modern Seller, guides sales professionals and leaders in building next-generation sales capabilities. She is recognized by LinkedIn as a Top Sales Voice.