Cold Open And Bathroom Science

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Welcome back to Corporate Strategy, the podcast that could have been an email.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

I'm Anthony. And I'm Michael. I still want to say Clark every time. I'm like this close. I know. This close to the same thing. I think Bruce and Clark were way cooler.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

They were way cooler. I agree. Um I held my breath with you this time, by the way, just so you know.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Did you? Oh, so we both held our breath this time. Great. I wasn't gonna leave you alone. So I mean, it's kind of scary, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 0:46

It is. My vision started to cloud, the darkness started to creep in. I I was scared. I was I was nervous.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

You know, I don't know. I don't know if this is because I'm holding my breath, but every single time I hear you talk, I just see red. You're gonna say every time you hear me talk, you hold your breath.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

I'll be like, don't do that. It seems like a terrible idea. I just see red every time you're talking. Good. Uh that that means uh I have a healthy, I have a very healthy uh relationship with you.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Do you eat a lot of beets? Because I just can see it, I can feel it in you.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

No, I mean I do like beets. I mean, the fun thing about beets is they turn your poop red and make you think you have color issues. It's great.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

But they're very good for you. We're about to do something disgusting. You know, imagine if you ate beets, ate asparagus on the same day, ate some flame and hot Cheetos all on the same day. Those don't upset me. Those don't upset me. Beets, asparagus, hot flame and hot Cheetos. I just had a bag of flaming. You might you might legitimately think you're dying when you go to the bathroom every day. Beets, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Asparagus is just a stink, it's just a smell. Beets, I mean that's troublesome. It's troublesome because you're like, oh wait, am I dying? Like, do I need to go to the hospital? You know, that happens a lot, actually. There uh a lot of 911 calls are or like doctor's visits are are due to beets.

Screenings, Stigma, And Getting Checked

SPEAKER_01 2:28

It's important. I mean, you feel like this is why it's important when you get to well, if you have a family history of colon cancer, start getting screened early, like I do, or alternatively, you know, start getting screened once you hit your 30s, mid-30s, late 30s, early 40s, because that's when you will be able to catch these kind of things. So just your health tip of the week. It's not beats, or maybe it is. It is beats, it's probably beats.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Did you eat beats by Dre? It's more than likely beats by Dre, but there's also an off chance you may have something serious. So, you know, it never hurts to get checked out. It never hurts to get checked out of it.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

The worst part of the colonoscopy, Anthony's health tip. The worst part of the colonoscopy, because it sounds like it's just a terrible procedure, but the worst part is the prep by far. And you just you're just not going to be happy about it because you drink the most disgusting swell for like two days, 48 hours. You're just you're just drinking like salt water, and you're not allowed to eat any real food. It's all clear foods, and you just use the bathroom every hour. And the goal, the goal of this is that you are basically peeing water through your butt. So, you know, that's that's what you're aiming for. That's how you know you're ready for the colonoscopy.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

You know, I don't know about you right now, but I think we just end it right now, we burn it, and then we just redo this whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

We can't rely. This is this is the joy. I don't know. I like to share health experiences with people because I think one, there's a stigma about health in general. Going to the doctor, getting procedures done. I share my experiences because there are people out there who will not go. And there's just this stigma. Like, I can't have my prostate checked, I can't have a colonoscopy. Like, it's just, it's not natural. It's not it's not good for a man. It's it's all it's often men. It's not good for a man to have these kind of things done. It absolutely is. Get over yourself. The manliest thing you can do is get your prostate examined. So just I share because I care. And I I sadly a lot of men, this is specifically a male problem, will not go get checked. And they end up getting cancer when it's far too late to do anything about, and then suffer the consequences because of that. So I share my experience just to say if I can do it, anyone can do it.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

I love it. I love the the positivity you're putting in the air. I love that you're encouraging people. It's okay, there's no shame in it, but I also stand by politics, religion, money, and colonoscopies are not okay to talk about in the workplace.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Call it, bring up your colonoscopy at your next team meeting. Bring it up, share it. Your next one on one. Tell them about the trend. Tell them about when you feed water through your butthole.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Tell them about it. When someone asks you how your day's going, just tell them that. Tell them about it. They they want to hear.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

They want to hear the good news. Trust me.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

I mean, they'll appreciate.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

I mean, you're you're enthralled. You're like, hmm. That doesn't sound like it's not fun. I don't know if I'm having a good time in this conversation at the moment. I I bring nothing but the goodest of times.

Vibe Check And Holiday Work Slowdowns

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Speaking of good times, Vibecheck. How are you doing? How you doing?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Vibe check. What's what's going on? What's happening? It's kind of like a gloomy, it's a gloomy Saturday. Sure. It's weird that it's a Saturday. We've been a little off schedule. We just totally forgot to text each other and be like, oh yeah, we need to pick a day because the week just flew by. It didn't. Yeah, it's kind of a gloomy Saturday. And you know, I think I think it was it was a good week. It was a productive week. And I have the urge right now to start prepping for next week. The urge to purge, but start prepping for next week and the week after because July 4th is coming up. 250th celebration, the founding of the United States. And I feel like, at least now that I run my own business and I'm working with a bunch of other businesses, it's gonna get really quiet really quick.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

Because nobody's gonna be working. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Are you feeling that? It's it's so quiet right now because literally half my company is European and they're all on vacation. And I'm just like, dude, this is nuts. Like my Slack, like I took a screenshot. It was like every other person had a little palm tree uh emoji on there. Like, dude, everyone's on vacation. And like, fortunately for us, this week was Juneteenth, which is corporate holiday. So we got that off. I not only took Friday off, I'm taking Monday off too. And July 4th coming up. You know, I'm doing a four-day for July 4th as well. Heck yeah. Yeah. What's the live force on Saturday? Yes. Most companies are probably gonna observe it. Friday. Yeah, Friday, the third. Right, right, right, right, right, right, right. Yeah, yeah. So I'm I'm enjoying the little bit of downtime we're getting right now. I'm planning for the future. And also, you know, let the Europeans enjoy their holiday. We give the Europeans a lot of crap on this podcast because they deserve it. They really do. Us Americans working to dust while they enjoy the sun and the trains and just the the perks of being a European. But you know what?

SPEAKER_00 8:01

The quality, the alcohol quality, the free health care. Yeah, yeah, they deserve affordable housing. Yeah, you know, long summer vacations gone for months at times, siestas in the afternoon. Do you guys even work over there? Do you understand what it's like to work your fingers to the bone like we do, us keyboard warriors here in America? A uniquely American trait.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Uh, well, not uniquely American, but uh is become the trait that was much uh not an American trait, but has become an American trait. The, I mean, even when you look at like the Industrial Revolution and Henry Ford and Flagler, a lot of these like super rich, sort of the the you know, the barons of their time were very much still aware of the importance of breaks and work-life balance and workers' comp and kind of taking care of the worker, which is funny because you know, you associate the old times with, you know, I my arm just got ripped off in a machine, and what am I gonna do now? But like they they were actually concerned about making the factories better, making them safer. Uh, a lot of that came from that generation. And it's only recently have we really stopped caring about the well-being of the worker, which is you know, just a fun development in our country's history as we approach 250

Why Mergers Trigger So Much Fear

SPEAKER_01 9:22

years. Uh interestingly enough, interestingly enough, that's kind of what I wanted to talk about today for our topic. That's bridge. I don't know what you're about to say, but I'm it. I'm excited. So personally, uh personal, personal life history here is I work for a startup that got acquired by a large company. And uh I'm I'm bringing this up because I get messaged about it by my peers every week. And in case my peers listen to this podcast, I'm just gonna tell everyone what I've been telling you all. I want to talk about mergers and acquisitions and what it does for employee well-being, what it does for employee sort of mentality and the emotional state, but also how to handle it and how to overcome the MA. Uh, you and I have been part of a D-merger before, and I have witnessed mergers and acquisitions. I'm familiar with the concept, and I think it would be a good little topic not only to talk about, but to uh to create some some pod material on.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

What do you say? I love it. I love that idea. Yeah, I've never been part of a merger or an acquisition of that of a like a large size. Like I we've I've been part of companies who have acquired smaller companies, so I've been on that end. But yeah, we've been part of a D-merger. And well, we've seen mergers.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

We were part, we were the company that acquired, right, right. We have seen that, yeah. And we've been part of a D-merger, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Yeah, I think I think it's really interesting to share your perspective because I think a lot of companies go through that and it can be like really good and really energizing. And then I've also heard like nightmare stories of, you know, they just bought you because you were a competition and they said all these shiny things to kind of get you in the door to be like, we're gonna use your product, it's gonna become part of our main portfolio. You guys are gonna stay exactly the same. That's when the red flag should pop up because those are like the words when you hear nothing's going to change. You guys are just gonna be operating in our big company and you're gonna have more capital and resources available to you. And I feel like that's when it just goes downhill.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

I love that that's where you went first, because I think that's actually a good place to start. As you can imagine, I'm getting, I am getting lots of DMs from from folks I work with, basically like, Am I am I safe? Is my job safe? You know, I don't know what's gonna happen, you know, what's gonna happen to me. Everyone's concerned about themselves, right? Justifiably so. We work to live and we live to work. And in this current job market, which let me tell you, if you have not been in our Discord, reading some of the things that are happening right now. I don't think I'm ever gonna have a job again, by the way, Michael. Just sub sub note here. This is my last job. This is why I quit my job. This is my last employee. No, you're smart, you're smart. Um, I need to I I'm thinking maybe I'm gonna go uh get a master electrician. I'm gonna go do electrician training. Um, I enjoy it, I'm good with wires. I think that's my next step. So just some substory. Anthony Shakamano, that's what they're gonna say. Yeah, I mean I've electrocuted myself and I've lived. I think I've done it. I think I'm ready to become an electrician. So that's my next step. You're qualified for everyone curious. So why is mergers and acquisitions such a thing that causes fear?

The Real Reasons Companies Acquire

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Is there is uncertainty, right? There's two reasons a company buys another company. There's just two reasons. One, you like the technology, or two, you like the customers. And it could be a little bit of both, but in the first case, it's because, hey, I think what you have is pretty cool. I think it benefits us, and adding you into our portfolio helps us grow. In the second case, it's more of a you are competitive with us, and I like your customers, and I'm buying you so that competition stops. They might take the technology, but more importantly than that, they're taking out the competition. And you can see this. And in fact, it actually can happen in reverse. When you look at Boeing and uh McDonnell Douglas, Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas. They had a huge customer set. There was kind of a it was a it was a merger, but it was technically an acquisition. And what ended up happening was McDonnell Douglas, who got bought, reverse took over Boeing. And that is why Boeing kills people today, believe it or not. Like that's the long and the short of it. Is Boeing used to be a company of high, high quality. McDonnell Douglas got bought by them, and their leadership was able to successfully reverse take over the company. And McDonnell Douglas, which was actually just a really crappy airline, is now killing Boeing's customers. Isn't that fun? Aren't mergers and acquisitions fun?

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Aren't they just a blast? Yeah, I think the only third one I would add, sometimes mergers and acquisitions happen for people. Like certain talent people can be like the talent can be the third kind of aqua hire situation.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

I guess I would I would kind of say that's like the product talent, right? You're buying the company because you want something that they produce, or you're buying the company to take out the company or get their customers, right? Like it's one of them is a little more, and I bring this up because like one of them is positive, one of them has a negative connotation, right? So let's let's just say the positive merger, which is either people, talent, product, services, systems. You're buying the company because it adds a positive to your portfolio, or you're buying the company because you have negative intentions. So I think there's just one of those two cases. Would you agree?

SPEAKER_00 15:05

I think so. I think you're right. Yeah, I think the the positive and the negative are the ones we should focus on. And there's different reasons for it, but I think the intention's the same. So I'd agree. I think it's either, yeah, positive or negative. And I think the ones you said, I think we will the ones you said could be, I guess the first one could be split up of like sometimes it's positive, sometimes it's negative. But I think largely when you're buying somebody just to take their customers, like that gets dicey fast.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Yes. So I think it's important. Let's go down that, let's go down that route first, because I feel like that's a shorter one to go

How To Spot A Hostile Deal

SPEAKER_01 15:39

down. When you're buying a company to hurt that company or to get the customers or to eliminate the competition. So as it were, if you are part of the company being bought, you need to be updating your resume like right away. Like evaluate. Am I being bought because they like us or am I being bought because they hate us? And if it isn't they hate us, you are not going to last because you are not being bought with good intentions. Therefore, the leadership does not have a good intention for you. You might make it six months to a year, but that's going to be a short-lived tenure unless you really, really bring something special to the company that you're merging with.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Now it almost feels like it's a defensive move from the purchaser, right? Because it's exactly we own a certain market share, or we just created a new product that targets a specific, you know, segment of the market. And now we want to purchase a company who maybe is eating into our market share. You and I saw this a lot, you know, in the industry that we were in. So like you might just say, we're gonna buy this company just because they're starting to eat into our market share. So it's very, it's very protective of your company and it's defensive to kind of keep you guys afloat. And I'm trying to think of like, can that ever be a positive thing? And I think generally, like, no, like usually customers, especially when it's eating into a market that you already own, usually customers aren't satisfied with the big player unless they're new entrants, right? So they're like, I'm not satisfied with them. So I went with a smaller company that I like their product better, but it has the same result for my company. And now the bigger company who's buying them, the customer just like, well shit, we're right back here with the bad company that we didn't like. And hopefully I can continue using the small product, but more often than not, it gets eaten into the larger product, and then they're stuck with the crappy product again.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

What's what's very funny is I've had this exact conversation with prospects and customers at conferences I've worked, where I will explain either where I work or you know who I work for, and they'll tell me their story, which is basically like, yeah, we were a customer of them, then left, got a different product, then that product was acquired by them again, and we're right back underneath. And like if that was a one-off, it would be kind of cool, but it's not. In fact, this happens a lot. And I mean, think about it from a pure business perspective, right? The big company is looking like I'm losing my customers to this comp competition, either because they have some technology that I don't, or they're just a more likable business than I am. So I can either buy the technology and integrate, or I could buy the technology and kill them, right? And that's that is really the whole idea of an of a merger or an acquisition, is because you want to improve your standing in the market. Apple bought beats by Dre to bring it all around. Apple bought Beats by Dre because Beats had one of the best consumer grade, easy produce headphones in the market. They used that technology to then create their own AirPod Maxes. They still sell Beats, but they they kickstarted their own brand by buying this company. That was one of the largest hardware acquisitions of all time. Now, with it, they also got the what was it, the it was the Beats streaming music platform, which kickstarted their own Apple music. So they killed that platform off entirely. I don't know what happened to the Beats employees. If any of you listen to this podcast, I would love to hear your side of the story. But look what it did for Apple. It spearheaded their AirPod uh hardware division, it launched their music streaming platform. It took them from iTunes, which is just a pay-to-play by MP3 system, to a full-blown streaming platform. Like it really launched them to be competitive with Spotify and all of the other hardware vendors when it comes to audio equipment, which I wear on my head right now. So, like you can see the effects of an acquisition and what it can do for a company in a positive for that company. Now you could see the exact same thing happen with other uh big businesses out there where they buy it, like the Boeing McDonnell Douglas, buy a company, destroy a company, right? And then the company ends up destroying you back. So lots of different scenarios can can happen with these things, positive and negative.

Who Stays After The Acquisition

SPEAKER_01 20:08

But on the worker side, that's where it gets dicey, right? Because if you're part of a hostile acquisition, you're donezo. You are not intended to stay at this company. But I believe in my case, I am part of a positive acquisition where they bought our technology because they did not have a technology. I see this as a positive, but I do think there are some cautions and precautions that everyone needs to realize, right? When you are acquired, you need to look at yourself and say, Do I benefit the new company? Do I bring something of value to where I'm going? And ask yourself that question honestly, and update your resume regardless of the answer.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

I think to your point, and you're making me think through this more. I think if you are part of an acquisition because you're stealing a company's customer base, it is almost always negative. Because you're providing the same product, yes, but in a different way. So the same end result. Like you're you're trying to get the customers because they want the same end result from whatever you provide. And if you're purchased because you're starting to be a competitor to them and eat into their market share, it is almost always going to be negative. Like they just want to get rid of you and stop what you're doing. On the other hand, if you are bought because you are in like a new niche, a new type of customer, and you're like getting new customers that this company wants to branch into, I think that could be positive because then you might be stepping into a company where you know you're you're bringing technology and capabilities that the current team doesn't have. But in the first case, you're being acquired into a company that does exactly what you do. And I think if that's the case, like that is when you should be like, they are going to purchase us and then they are going to fire us immediately, or just like put us in a corner and be like, all right, we don't want to talk to you, we're gonna kill off your product, all your customers. Going to switch over to our platform instead, and you guys are just going to fade into the background.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Now, there is it's not always all bad, right? Like there will be a small group of folks at the acquired company that will likely stay on. And those are the knowledge holders for that company or the account representatives that manage the high profile clients because they don't want to lose those clients again. So they will court very specific knowledge workers because hey, you bring you're you're actually a great acquisition for us. You bring value that we don't have today. You know technology, you know development, you know something that we don't have, or you're an account representative or a salesperson that has an existing relationship with a high profile customer that we want to keep. So we're going to keep you around for that reason to keep that relationship. But there can be benefits to that, including more pay, more security, more value. But realize you are you are almost a you're uh well, I don't I figure if if capitalist correspondent Alexa Strappo was here, he'd have the word. But you know, it's like when Rome was bringing in the outsiders into Rome because of the value they had, but it actually ended up, you know, destroying Rome. Like that's the whole that's the whole thing that's happening here. So they still look at you as a bit of an enemy, but you bring value. And I think on the other side, there's a lot more potential for you to be successful as part of an acquisition, specifically because we're filling a gap in our portfolio that we otherwise don't have. They need you, right? Like we saw this at Big Corp when they would buy those little companies because they're like, hey, I need to do something very specific with Kubernetes. So we're gonna go buy this small little hundred person company. If you're a knowledge worker, you're safe, period. Right? Like if you bring something to the table for that technology, they're buying you just as much as they're buying your product because they need you to maintain it. If you're a sales worker and you're helping with the clients, you're probably safe. Product management, I don't know. What what

Redundant Roles And The New Org Chart

SPEAKER_01 24:04

do you say, Michael? Is product management safe?

SPEAKER_00 24:08

It's hard because bringing in like product management talent, like think of it from, and I would say this even from you know other portions of the team perspective, like as a product manager, you're responsible for like strategy. And when you're the little fish being eaten by the big fish, like the big fish aren't going to take you seriously, right? Right. And so like it's really hard for me to step in and be like, we just got acquired, like, here's how I could see us kind of merging together. It's like you're not the big man on the totem pole anymore. Right. I think product managers are would struggle right in in this type of position.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

And I was I was curious about that one because you think about some of the redundant roles, right? Like HR, IT staff, uh, you know, finance. You're sadly for those roles, you're basically just being added to an a functional system. So unless there are gaps in their personnel, you are effectively applying for an existing job when you join. Now you might be better than what they have, and there is an app like, you know, there's you're basically in a job interview until your termination, like, hey, I can show you I'm better than what you have, but it is going to be a fight for you. So like I do think that's the differentiator. And I see product management almost as right in the middle. Like, you might you might sink or swim based on are you likable? Are you talented? Uh, can you blend in with the new company, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:27

The first one's so important. It's like, are you likable? Like, I think the most important thing you can do in this situation is drink the Kool-Aid fast. Like, show I am not tied to it. It's like you're quickly jumping ship. You're like, I am not tied to that piece of crap over there at all. I am completely all in and excited about this new opportunity. Like, if you don't approach it that way and you're protective of the way you do things, or you're constantly like, well, the way we do it is like you're gone. You're gone in a minute. Like, you have to get on board the new ship, get on the right bus. Otherwise, you're not gonna survive no matter what role you're in.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

I like that we're getting on ships and buses at the same time. I think that's productive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

Well, it depends. Are you land dwelling or are you sea dwelling? It's a really important question. So you're gonna do it. What if you're a platypi? Well, you gotta look yourself anatomically. In that case, you could be both a bus dweller and a boat dweller. It's uh it's up to you. What what would it lay an egg on? The bus in a the bus in a boat. Probably on its own face. That's probably where the egg would go. You know, it's interesting to think about a scenario. Like, put yourself in an engineering position, put yourself as like an architect or something like that. And imagine you just got acquired by Big Corp. And so you're coming in as an architect of the smaller company being perched into the big one. Like, for you to come in and try to protect what was built or you know, try to show them, like, nobody's gonna like you. No, you know what I mean? Like, and I hate to say that, but that's true. It's gonna be like, okay, we already got a rhythm, we know what we're doing in the big product, you're a small fish, we know what we're doing. And if you come in and like try to make moves and like push people around to be like, no, no, no, that's not how it works. Like, you're gonna you're gonna be pushed off the plank in in no time because there's no way you're gonna survive that situation if you're not like trying to be curious, trying to learn, trying to form connections. Like if you're at all protective of the old you know, product and regime, unless you're asked, like if you're an expert and you're asked all about the product and like you're being referenced for them, it might feel like you're giving away your job because the bigger company is just gonna step in and do it. But to be honest, I think that's the only option you have is to be as valuable as you can, because then they're gonna look at you and be like, you're a team player, you're somebody who we can maybe put in a position. But I do think it's hard when you're like the subject matter expert in you know backup and recovery technology, and you're the smaller company, because then the then the architects are gonna look at you being like, okay, you're you're hot stuff for your small little thing, right? You're hot stuff for a big thing. We don't like you. You don't really know what you're doing. We know what we're doing. So I think there's always going to be like that us versus them mentality, and you really got to show I can be a team player.

Be Likable, Be Useful, Stay Employed

SPEAKER_01 28:14

That is such a good point. And something you said too, I want to dig into further because yes, you need priority number one, be likable. I think we can agree on that, right? Like the number one thing you need to do when you get mergered and acquired and you want to keep your job is be likable. And you know what that means. Don't look at me. We've had so many episodes now on public speaking, being likable, being presentable. Go home. Uh, I am working on a Patreon only presentation on how to be likable and how to present. So if you want to find out more about that, sign up for a Patreon, it'll be posted soon. It's awesome. It is awesome. If you actually see it, you're gonna love it. It's gonna be a fun time. Uh so shoutouts to our patrons. You'll be getting that in your feed soon. Be likable. Step one. Step two, focus on what you are good at. You were you were hinting on to this, which is basically like, hey, you don't need to come in and be like, I know everything about your business or I know everything about the industry. No. What were you hired for to do at your job that you did so well that this company acquired you for? That's what you need to hone in on and be like, hey, I'm Anthony, and I'm really good at polishing widgets. And that's why you bought our company. You're gonna bring this widget polishing ability to the new company, and they're gonna keep you on because you polish them widgets so well. But the second you go off brand, you're like, you know what, though? I know how to make widgets faster too. Because I know you all have a problem with that. You are overstepping your boundaries and you are going to become a problem. Do not tell other people how to do their jobs when you are the incomer. Tell them this is what I do really well, and this is why our company was good or why our product was good.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

And honestly, the funny thing about all this is like it's not hard. It's not maybe it's just the consultant in me, like speaking, because I was did a short set of consulting before Universal, and now I help consult the company. But you can be useful anywhere. You can be listening to a call and realize no one's taking notes or having action items. I'm just gonna take them real quick and I'm gonna post them. Or you could be like, hey, it's just really dry in here. I'm just gonna post something fun about myself as an icebreaker. Like, there's so many things you can do that make you likable that isn't overstepping. Like just look at the situation and be like, what can I provide here that would be valuable to people? And one thing, if it's like, hey, nobody seems to remember what we talked about last meeting, help take notes and be like, hey, for next time, I just thought I'd put together some notes. You know, I hope these are helpful. And hopefully you'll get some feedback, some likes, some people referencing it to show you like it's helpful. But I think that's that's all it is, is like just look for what I can do in this situation to be helpful. Is there something they're missing? Or do I just need to be curious? Like I think being curious is so important to be like, hey, Anthony, I'm I'm new here, but I'd love to learn more, you know, about you and about what you do. And doing that alone is gonna make you that person that they're like, who should we keep and who should we get rid of? They're gonna be like, oh, I've never talked to Jonathan before. But Michael keeps reaching out, like, we've had some really good conversations. You are gonna be the one that stays versus Jonathan who's just sitting in the corner scared.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

Absolutely, yes. And I hate to say it is a long-term interview to keep your job, because it might not be that you might actually genuinely be bought because you are the special sauce and there's no way and heck they'll get rid of you. But for more redundant roles, even in the acquisition where they love your company. Like we're so excited to have you here. We bought you guys because we really see what you're doing. We think you'd be a great addition to our company. You might be redundant. And the good news is it costs money to fire people, and also it costs money to riff a bunch of people. And things like the FTC were put in place to stop companies from buying other companies and then getting rid of all the employees that you just acquired. But sadly, the FTC doesn't give a crap anymore, as evidenced by look around you. Literally pick a company that has acquired another company in the last 10 years and promise I'm not gonna get rid of anybody and watch how many people they get rid of. Cough Microsoft, cough. Y'all suck. You're laying off all of your good developers, you're gonna get what's coming. But that's I'm sorry, I coughed. I had a little bit of a cough there. Just uh, I don't know if yeah, yeah. You don't think you're really coming down with something. You had to get out of your system. We see you, Xbox, we see what you're doing. Uh it is dangerous, and it is also important that you keep that in the back of your mind. You might be the best company in the world. You might think, hey, the FTC's got our back. No, they don't. Uh, if you're an American company being acquired by another company, you are not protected. So just keep that in the back of your mind as well. And read the room, really. Read the room. And I I do look at Microsoft as a good example of this. Uh, if you've been keeping up with anything that they've been doing recently, damning, it's just bad, right? They've promised the FTC they would not get rid of anybody. And within like the first year of their massive acquisition spree of 12 different gaming companies, they got rid of one. Like, hmm, if they were willing to break the rules year one after spending 69 billion dollars, maybe they're gonna break the rules again. And like, I hate to say that, but you gotta look at the company and look at what their end goals are. Like, are you actually part of the end goal or are you part of the pet project? Right? Are you adding constant revenue, constant profit as part of this acquisition? Or is it like a side grade? And if you read that room, you need to get your resume up to date.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

You went exactly where I wanted to go. Like, and this is something we didn't do when we had our D merger, which is what was interesting in itself. Like, understand the motivations of the situation. And it's everything we've been talking about, right? Like, but if you get if you get acquired and you don't even understand like what the parent company does, and like you don't think about what's in it for them, yeah, when a merger happens, when an acquisition happens. And if you're especially if you're the little fish and you don't try to think about because you're you're more vulnerable when you're the one on the receiving end of that, like you're the most vulnerable person in the situation. And you really need to think for yourself like, what is in it for them? Do they want to buy us because they want to merge us into their product because you know we offer something that they're they are currently, they don't have the capability to do, they don't have the talent to do, they don't have the technology, they don't have the patents, like whatever it is. Or are they buying us just because we're eating another market share and now they they want to you know just get their customers back? And I think you really gotta think about that and then gear the way that you approach the situation as such, right? Of like, okay, I need to be sensitive about this situation. We were stealing their customers, and now they're getting their customers back. So, how can I be helpful in this situation? I can offer them my customers if I'm in sales and be like, hey, you know, I've been working with this client for a long time, you know, they love this part of the product. I think they would also love this part of our bigger product now. Like, this is a way that I can do an intro uh to the team. And so, like, try to think about how you can bring value to that situation, but it's all based on the context. If you don't think about that context, you're not going to approach a situation, right? Because sometimes it might just be, yeah, I just need to sit back and kind of be quiet and let them do their thing. And I just need to like stay off the radar. Sometimes that might be better for you.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

So you you said I brought up a good point, but you brought up a good point because you could be thinking context, something you can do if you're part of the merger or acquisition, and like this is true. I've I've done this, uh, and it it works.

Research The CEO Before You Trust

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Look up your new CEO's LinkedIn profile. Go look it up. Go type your CEO's name in Google News or whatever your search engine of choice is and read about what they have done in previous incidents. Now, you might be the first one. Maybe you've got a young CEO and they're like, hey, this is my first merger acquisition. Well, you're screwed. Uh play it by ear. But chances are there is a pattern of behavior. What do I mean by that? So, like if you look at what the CEO has done, because CEOs don't just become CEOs, they usually have a history of, you know, doing uh sort of business CMO, CRO, like they're doing some kind of business for a company. They have a history, they have patterns, and all this is tracked and traced. So find out what have they done with previous mergers and acquisitions? Is it always a smooth, nice transition? Everyone keeps their job, you know, small little bit of turnover. You're safe. Congrats, you're a good one. You might see, hey, my CEO, Kough Microsoft Cough, seems to acquire businesses and then completely gut them. Teams, uh, you know, Skype, just the list is endless. Look at all of the acquisitions where they buy technology and then ruin them and fire everybody. Like if you get acquired by Microsoft, you will lose your job in two years. Like, I feel like that's almost just a safe assumption to make because of the history of what that company and specifically their CEO does. Like, I'm not even being hyperbolic at this point. Like, you can look at the data and say, hey, this always happens. It's going to continue to happen. So if you are part of a merger or acquisition where there is data to back up your fear and concern, then you need to apply that fear and concern to getting out and getting a new job. But if you're part of a merger and acquisition where they notoriously keep on their employees, they keep the technology, then you're probably safe. And you should be looking to integrate nicely with this new company and become part of the culture of this new company. And, you know, that that is your new job, Hunt, is how do I integrate versus how do I exit?

SPEAKER_00 37:47

Yeah. It's such an interesting situation because, like, more than likely you're gonna have like a new boss. Yeah. And like you have to, you have to understand exactly what you're saying. Because some CEOs are brought in just to slash and burn and get operating costs low so that way they can turn around and sell the company or get it back on the right track. And then they they leave after like two years. You and I saw this. You know, there was a CEO who came in who did exactly that, and then they were gone, you know, two years later. Like that that was exactly what they were brought in for, was just for that job. And you need to understand that situation because it will give you context for very likely what's going to happen to you because that person came in for a reason, because of what they are good at. And so when you're going into conversations with your team, with your new boss, like be sensitive to understand that and then try to think about how I can provide value. But I think the nice thing is like one, they don't remember that they don't know you. So I'm not saying lie, but talk about your successes that you've had at the company. Like, I was part of the team that landed the largest client we've had at X Company. Like, I'm really excited to bring that into you know, the energy and you know, what we build to the proprietary technology, whatever it is, over here. Like, talk yourself up because if you don't make a name for yourself, like it's gonna be hard for you to stand out. On the other end, if you find yourself looking for another job because you see what the writing on the wall and what's about to happen to you, or you just get the feeling that your manager doesn't care about you in this new situation, which likely means you're on the chopping block. I think you need to look at that also as an opportunity to be out in the market and saying, hey, I was part of the founding team here. We got acquired by this company. And, you know, while I would love to continue working with them, you know, I see an opportunity for myself to step out and actually into a bigger role because this was really successful for all of us. So it's actually like a fortuitous situation that can come up because you can talk about uh the success of your company being acquired by a larger company. That means you guys did something right. That is a good spot to be in.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

That's the first thing on my recurrent resume is help the company get acquired by a larger company because it's huge. Now it doesn't matter. I'm gonna have to go be an electrician because AI has ruined everything. But I mean, you know, I'm doing the right thing. I put it right front and center on the resume.

SPEAKER_00 40:04

Yeah, and it it does. It puts you in that awesome story of being like, hey, I was there for two years, you know, we uh quadrupled our revenue, you know, we made ourselves really appealing. And then there was an opportunity to work with this bigger company to integrate our product portfolio, and now we can have a bigger impact uh to the customers and to the market. And so, like, that's a really good story. We were talking about story in our public speaking, like talking, telling a hero story. That's a hero story to be like I was employee number 10, and now we just got purchased once we got to 150 employees by this company, and you can turn that into a really positive story to hopefully you know be a really good opportunity for

Resume Strategy And Exit Timing

SPEAKER_00 40:40

you.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

So let's let's summarize. I think in the order of operations, you just got acquired. First thing you should do, why were you acquired? Understand the why. Right? Like, is it is it competitive? Is it cooperative? Is it because they want technology? Is it because they really like Janice? Because Janice rules. See, and I'm being different this time. I'm giving Janice credit.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

And all those Janus's, all of our listeners who are named Janice are so happy you're doing this right now.

SPEAKER_01 41:08

Janice is the top closer word buying this company because of Janice, okay? So that's firstly, understand your why. Secondly, look at history, right? Take a look at this company, take a look at their behaviors, take a look at the CEO, because they're the ones who are gonna be making the decision, and understand you know what's happened in the past of these kind of things. And if you're feeling positive, go down the route of be likable, be nice, be likable, introduce yourself to others, get to know them, understand. Am I redundant? Do I bring something unique to this new company? My knowledge, my likability, my ability to run Jira, whatever it is, do you bring something new or nuanced it didn't have before? And on the negative side, hey, things ain't looking good. Update my resume right away. Do exactly what Michael just said. Highlight why you were acquired. Make sure to put in the parts that you helped with the acquisition, right? I worked on the product that they decided they wanted. I closed the deal that brought in the customer that really took us over the edge of profitability. Focus on what made that company attainable or worth acquiring and build that into your resume. Do not wait. Start applying immediately because you never know when that hammer's gonna drop. And you want to be out before everyone else is, because then it is going to be a death race for jobs, sadly. And this is this really is what's happening a lot in the industry right now is that people are getting laid off left and right. Just the amount of tech workers, you know, Michael and I are both well, I'm truly in tech. Michael is you're you're almost just a chameleon. You can you can solve any problem. But in tech specifically, like there is a battle for jobs, right? And because of if you go on our Discord and take a look at some of the most recent uh discussions about AI and resumes and how you have to apply for 500 jobs and have AI tell your resume for each application just to get one interview, that's the situation, right? Like it sucks right now. So get ahead of the inevitable if you are in that negative pit. And I would say, even on the positive, if you are the if you are the Janice and you are the reason they bought the company, it doesn't hurt to update your resume, and it doesn't hurt to keep in the back of your mind they still might get rid of me for X, Y, or Z reason. They will always focus on their core children versus their adopted children. And that's just the fact of the matter. Unless you're a McDonnell Douglas, in which case you're gonna cannibalize the company.

SPEAKER_00 43:45

That was really sad. But true. I think something that like we talk about this a lot. You've got to look out for numero uno, and that's you, right? And when it's uncertain, yeah. Yeah, sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah. You gotta look out for Janice. Yeah, absolutely. Um, when it's uncertain, you need to look out for yourself. Yes. And that means even if you feel positive about it, you should be looking for another opportunity. This is one of those milestone events that is a resume moment, like a time to update your resume. When you get promoted, when you finish a large project, when you start a new job, obviously. Update your resume. But this is also a situation where it's uncertain. You don't know what's going to happen. When that's the case, it's the perfect time for you to go out there and understand what is my worth in the market. And you might find the golden opportunity that is different from what you're doing now, but at least it could be guaranteed. You don't want to be slapped in the face two months later when you felt like everything was positive and your manager was really, really nice, and then like, yeah, we're just laying off your whole team because we just want your product in the end. If you are unsure at all, you need to be in the market looking. Try, there's it doesn't hurt to put yourself out there, talk to companies, try to find something you're interested in. And you might find a way better role or make way more money. That's what we often saw. It's like the second you get another job offer, even if it's a lateral move, it's a new company, it's different rates than when you five years ago when you started your job, and you're likely going to make more money switching jobs at that time. So I would really, really think about that.

Retention Deals, Contracts, Legal Help

SPEAKER_00 45:15

The only other thing I'll note, just caveat. You might be in a contract where you can't receive the benefits from the acquisition if you leave early. Like you might have signed a like three-year agreement to say, I am going to stay after this merger acquisition for three years, and I'll be guaranteed stock options, X amount bonus, because you are acquired to be there in part of the talent acquisition. So just know if you signed a contract at all in this acquisition, you might want to verify that before you make any decisions.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

Well, if you sign a contract, you gotta wait that thing out, right? Like, even if it means you're jobless for a bit, you are waiting that thing out because the pay, you're getting paid regardless, right? Like that's the contract's the contract, right? They're keeping you on because they want you and they're offering you incentives because they need you. So if they decide to terminate early, 99% chance you're still getting paid. Obviously, we neither of us are contract experts. We did have one on the podcast in the past, my sister-in-law, Keelan. But uh, I what I would advise is if you feel nervous about the situation and you were given one of those contracts, seek legal help immediately. Uh, you're just gonna have them look at a contract. It's it's going to cost you money, but it likely costs you less than the heartache and time and frustration that would otherwise be spent looking at the contract after the fact, being like, wait, did I just get screwed? Look at that up front. Yeah. Uh and and then you can start to make decisions based on the information you have. So I would just always say seek legal counsel if there is murkiness in the contract front.

SPEAKER_00 46:52

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, if you sign a contract, really understand the ins and out of that because you might feel safe and then you might take it to a lawyer and they're like, oh, there's a clause here, actually, that if they merge their product in within 30 days, you could be laid off at any point in time and get nothing. Like you really need to understand the ins and outs of that. So we are not contract specialists, go find it.

SPEAKER_01 47:10

Right, right. But that's a good point. Like, I didn't even think about the contract incentivized side of keeping somebody. So, yes, it's probably a good thing. It's probably a good thing, but there is always the chance that they're gonna weasel

AI Anxiety, Skynet Jokes, Reality Check

SPEAKER_01 47:24

their way. Remember, corporations hate people, right? Like at the end of the day, they hate us. If they could replace all of us with robots, oh wait, next next week that's when it happens. The 250th, you know, Michael, I think on the 250th, you know what's gonna happen? Skynet turns on.

SPEAKER_00 47:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:44

That's it. This, I mean, this is gonna be one of the last episodes of corporate strategy. I'm so sorry, y'all. I hope this is beneficial for the next few weeks. But uh when Skynet turns on, you're all screwed.

SPEAKER_00 47:57

Like or on the positive side, it could be the best thing in the world. It could be. I literally just wrote that. You don't know Discord.

SPEAKER_01 48:05

I it's it goes one of two ways. There's only one of two options. Like, there is no pay. We go back to the 90s. There that does not happen. We cannot go back to the bottom. You can't put toothpaste, you can't put toothpaste back in the bottle, you know? No, no, you can't put Pandora back in her box. It's like rain on your wedding day. It's a free ride, but you've already paid.

SPEAKER_00 48:30

You can't put the genie back in the lamp. I mean, you can't put the salt back in the salt shaker. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. You can't I mean you gotta take the lid off, right? Yeah. You can't put the foam back in the foam sprayer. You can't put the exhaust back in the tank. You can't put the gas back in the car.

SPEAKER_01 48:58

I just said that, but I said it with more logic. You can't put the you can't put the fossils. You can't put the gas back into the fossil. You can't you can't put the plastic back into the gasoline or the oil. You can't you can't do it. I actually chemically you can do anything chemically. We just don't know how to do it effectively, which is why also we're killing the earth. It's really a race at this point. Like, do we drown in plastic or do the robots kill?

SPEAKER_00 49:36

You can't take the asparagus out of your pea.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

You can't do it. You can't. I mean, you can't do it. You can't technically I think chemically you could. I bet you, I bet you you could take something. You could take something that would counteract the chemical that is an asparagus that makes your pea stank and balance out the the the smell. You could probably get to normal. I mean, the the irony of asparagus is like pea doesn't smell good. I mean, someone's in the chat probably raised their hand and be like, I think it smells great. Like you stay in your corner, but for the most part, pea doesn't smell it's ammonia, it's it's old dead blood and waste. Like, oh no, asparagus made it smell worse. Like, I ain't sniffing my pea. Michael, is there something you want to share with the class? Is there something you want to share with the class? Are you concerned?

SPEAKER_00 50:24

I'm just I'm just dying. I'm just dying because I think I want to end it on on one more. Please don't. Dear God, please don't.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

It's giving you the shape of a bladder. You push it.

SPEAKER_00 50:36

You don't.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

Hey, dude, instead of I hate this so much.

SPEAKER_00 50:42

I got I got one last one that we got in and done. All right, I get it. You can't take the corporate strategist out of the corporate strategy.

SPEAKER_01 50:50

Damn straight. And how?

Discord, Patreon, Sharing The Episode

SPEAKER_01 50:53

And I think on that note, listen, y'all, if you have concerns about mergers acquisitions, about the robot takeover, or about the uh the asparagus smell of your pee. Fortunately, there is someone in our Discord that can help you with that. It's not us, but there's someone there, I promise you. They raised their hand, they were like, hmm, a esperagus. So join our Discord. You can do that by clicking the link in the show notes. Also, in that link, there's access to our Patreon, which, like I said, we've got unique Patreon content coming out. We we just released some recent Patreon content. It's pretty good. And we've got some very special uh educational Patreon content coming forward soon. This is the kind of stuff that, like, you know, we'd actually charge consulting hours for if we were to do it for a company. So, uh, what's coming soon are things, you know, you know, for ten dollars a month, you're gonna get access to, I mean, for a dollar a month, you're gonna get access to like consulting level training. So consider supporting the Patreon. If not for no other reason, then you want to see the show continue to go because right now we're able to do this for no cost, which was not the case for the last five years. And it's pretty awesome for us. Click that link, do all the things. We love you, we love your listenership. Please share this with your friends. If you know someone going through a merger, if you know someone going through an acquisition, if you know someone who's possessed by a banshee, send them this episode and they will have two of those problems solved.

SPEAKER_00 52:17

The third one, I maybe not, but also if someone needs to have a colonoscopy and they're they they just really are denying that they need one, but you know they should probably go get one, or if they're really curious about why you know what happens happens when you eat asparagus. Have them listen to this podcast. I mean, so many reasons to share this episode.

SPEAKER_01 52:37

I mean, the reasons are endless. Uh, you know, maybe maybe no, I'm not uh you know, I think that's yeah, we got that. We can't, yeah. I think it's it. Once again, we have basically filled an hour of your time, and we thank you as always for being there for us. Join the Discord, join the Patreon, uh, join the resistance because they're coming. Find your John Connor. We love you, we appreciate you. Until next time, I'm Anthony and I'm Michael, and you're on mute. We will see you next time.