article thumbnail

After a Merger, Don’t Let “Us vs. Them” Thinking Ruin the Company

Harvard Business Review

Consider this example: When The Interpublic Group (IPG) merged the direct-marketing company Draft with the ad-agency Foote Cone & Belding (FCB) to become one agency in 2006, “it was immediately apparent that the cultures of the two agencies were wildly different,” shared Marty Stock, then head of Coors advertising at FCB.

article thumbnail

Customer Intimacy, Meet Operational Excellence

Harvard Business Review

As a direct marketer we have been good at customer intimacy. ThedaCare employees have increased productivity 12 percent since January 2006, saving the company more than $27 million. Bean is embarking on a major investment in its systems infrastructure. We know a lot about our customers.