We just acquired a smaller competitor. Should we represent this new business unit as a separate, parallel branch on our Accountability Chart, or should we immediately integrate their team into our existing department seats?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The temptation is always to keep the acquired company separate to avoid disruption, but this is a mistake that delays integration and creates an us-versus-them culture. You must design your Accountability Chart based on the simplest, most scalable structure for the combined entity. First, look at your V/TO and determine if the acquired business represents a completely different business model or target market. If it does not, it belongs integrated into your existing seats. Do not create parallel seats for Sales, Marketing, and Operations. This leads to redundant overhead, conflicting processes, and internal competition. Instead, update your core seats. For example, if you now have two sales teams, you still have only one Head of Sales seat. That Head of Sales will manage both teams, which may be split into two regional seats below them. Run every member of the acquired team through the GWC framework for the newly designed seats. Some of their people will fit perfectly, some will need to be transitioned to different roles, and some will not make the cut. By integrating the structures immediately, you establish clear lines of communication and accountability. This is critical for capturing the synergies of the acquisition and preparing the unified company for a clean exit.