Home > Case Studies > The Right Interim Executive with the Right...

The Right Interim Executive with the Right Analysis Reveals the Right Answer

Paul Wright was retained by a Northern California Credit Union to help guide the board through the acquisition of another financial institution. The acquisition was part of the organization’s growth strategy, which was not unlike those used by other credit unions to survive. Due to losing some of the competitive advantages enjoyed by credit unions, banks were gaining flexibility and taking customers. To grow, credit unions had three options: organic growth within their sphere of influence; acquisition of other like financial concerns; or both, which was this organizations strategy.

Paul’s background of over 30 years of business experience as a consultant, focusing on executive team alignment, strategic planning, leadership training, team building and executive coaching made him a solid interim executive for this acquisition task. His expertise had matured into a unique ability to facilitate agreement with leadership boards on very difficult issues. This was exactly the task before him.

Initially everything looked good, but Paul implemented the Denison Organizational Culture Survey, an analysis process he had become proficient in which reveals eight quantifiable measurements. The Denison tool created a catalyst for conversations they never would have had, which uncovered the distinct differences in culture in the two companies. This made it abundantly clear this was not a good purchase option. Especially when they knew the majority of companies under perform financial expectations because of a bad culture fit.

At the end of the analysis and decision, the head of the leadership team told Paul, “This is the first time this group has ever been completely in agreement on anything this important”.

You may need an interim executive to help you review an acquisition possibility or a cultural synopsis of your company divisions and teams. The Denison Organizational Culture Survey and Paul may be your answer.

(Related: Seven Reasons Interim Executives are Great for Business)

We can help. We are External Resources, a company that delivers interim and permanent executives who specialize in leadership and strategy, finance and human resources, sales and marketing, and informational technology for commerce and government.

“Denison Organizational Culture Survey”. 2011. Denison^TM. http://www.denisonconsulting.com











Home Page