How Operational Leaders Drive Pst- M&A Success
Integration Is Where Deals Succeed or Quietly Implode
In M&A, the announcement is loud. But the real value is decided behind the scenes in your workflows, systems, and team onboarding.
Operational leaders know the truth: most deals don’t fail on paper. They fail in execution.
In fact, 70% of M&A deals fail to deliver expected value due to poor integration planning and execution.¹
In this piece, we’ll outline a proven integration model high-performing agencies use.
You’ll find that it’s not about software but infrastructure that adapts, people who don’t burn out, and processes that scale with complexity.
The Hidden Cost of “Good Enough” Integration
Operational assumptions, not strategy, are what slow down most integration processes. You may have heard these phrases before:
- “We’ll just migrate the workflows later.”
- “We’ll train everyone at once.”
- “We’ll sort out the data after close.”
These shortcuts stack up into friction, burnout, and missed revenue. Here are some red flags to watch for:
- No cross-functional onboarding process
- Manual reconciliation past Day 30
- Tech stacks that don’t integrate
- Ops teams are stuck firefighting instead of scaling
According to McKinsey, delayed integrations directly erode expected deal value, often within the first 100 days post-close.*²
The 30/60/90 Integration Model
The most effective COOs don’t improvise; they sequence.
Top-performing firms use a phased structure to integrate systems, teams, and workflows without burning out ops or stalling growth. These phases begin at Day 0 and continue through Day 90, and sometimes beyond.
🔹 Day 0–30: Establish Visibility
- Audit all systems and data inputs
- Centralize access to core operations (financials, compliance, workflows)
- Assign integration accountability by function, not org chart
“You can’t streamline what you can’t see.”
🔹 Day 31–60: Normalize Operations
- Standardize repeatable workflows (onboarding, reconciliation, renewals)
- Align compliance tracking and documentation
- Eliminate duplicative tools
- Establish reporting baselines
“This phase isn’t about change. It’s about control.”
🔹 Day 61–90: Automate + Expand
- Automate low-value, high-volume tasks
- Implement role-based training programs
- Launch KPI dashboards tied to integration goals
- Plan next-phase tech scaling based on traction
*Deloitte found that clear integration sequencing leads to 25–35% faster time-to-synergy realization.*³
Scaling Without Collapsing
True operational resilience is invisible because it prevents friction before it starts.
So, what does that entail? You’ll need:
✅ Documentation that supports scale
✅ Automations that enhance, not replace, human effort
✅ Systems that flex with complexity and acquisition velocity
Smart COOs don’t wait for bottlenecks to expose them. They engineer agility into their systems from the start.
Is Your Integration Built to Scale
If your company can confidently check four items off this list, it’s scaling.
If not, it’s patching.
- Is there a documented onboarding plan for each department?
- Can new producers or books be onboarded in under 30 days?
- Is your team operating from shared data sources, not exports?
- Are manual workarounds being replaced with system rules?
- Can your team quantify integration success by Month 3?
Make Execution Your Competitive Advantage
Growth is only good if you can absorb it.
The agencies winning M&A aren’t moving faster because of luck; they’re integrating with intention and building systems designed to evolve with complexity.
Because growth without execution is just expensive noise.
Sources
- Harvard Business Review – “The Big Idea: The New M&A Playbook”
- McKinsey & Co. – “How the Best Integrators Drive Growth After the Deal”
- Deloitte – “Capturing Value from M&A Integration”
