“The biggest challenge that we faced is the idea of how to take very distinct teams and cultures and products, and how [ to ] align them under one shared vision for the future.”
Keith Frankel’s hot takes:
- Address the elephants: Don't shy away from uncomfortable conversations and tackle culture divides head-on to foster healing and alignment.
- Enforce new behaviors: Implement consistent processes across teams, and remember, that behavior becomes personality over time.
- Lead with conviction: Don't be afraid to ruffle feathers, and focus on driving measurable outcomes to earn your stripes.
Calling all leaders working through the challenges, realities, and emotions of bringing teams, products, and cultures together. Totango’s Chief Product Officer, Keith Frankel, shared his unfiltered and real-world insights on how he and the Totango leadership team tackled these challenges. They created an organization built on a shared vision and culture while acknowledging and progressing through existing challenges.
Acknowledge the divides
Every person knows when there's an elephant in the room, and everyone is allergic to it. To advance cultural divides and address them openly and timely is crucial to moving everyone forward together. If you think divides aren’t going to happen, then you’re probably out of tune with your team and the cultural vibes in your organization. Here are three actions leaders can take to draw the elephants out of the room:
- Blend teams across regions: This encourages teams to cross-pollinate ideas, fostering unity and common ground.
- Eliminate team names: Remove old team names and create new names that create consolidated and shared identities.
- Establish a new operational cadence: Now is the time to set a new precedent, and new operations unify the combined organization and help ensure everyone moves in sync.
Create new norms
Behavior becomes personality over time; now is the time to set the tune that you, the leadership team, and the organization want to sing to in the future. In Keith’s first weeks, he had the meeting with the now-combined product and engineering teams, which was the “we’re not leaving this until you've all hashed out your problems with each other,” meeting. Yes, it was stark, but it was also cathartic. And, it set the precedent for the team moving forward that this was an organization where each individual was responsible for identifying, sharing, and working to resolve conflict. Totango, as an organization, is more than a category leader in customer success software, it’s a place where conflict is appreciated but resolved openly with purpose and in action. Being candid is one of the 5 company values, which means team members are supported to speak openly, truthfully and kindly even when it’s a touch conversation.
Speaking from experience, Keith shared that he does not come by “change” naturally. Growing up, he was actually adverse to change and conflict. But, personal experiences and willingness to take change head on overtime, built a resilience that he is committed to engrain in his team and the Totango culture.
Make decisions with convictions
Focus on outcomes and driving genuine results. It's vital for earning credibility with employees and with customers. For leaders in general, but specifically leading in M&A situations, it's essential to prioritize result-driven strategies that demonstrate tangible benefits and progress.
“I’m here to put this [ product ] on the path to get an outcome. That’s what I care about,” said Keith. Not everyone in the organization is going to like every decision that comes with that responsibility. It will involve trade-offs, it will require re-tooling, it will prescribe new precedent. But, if you orient changes and behaviors to outcomes, then the what and the why are clear.
“I care about outcomes. I'm happy to have no process if our outcomes are incredible. It's all about outcomes.” said Keith. And, that’s when you know if the process is in service or in hindrance of your team’s goal.
Master, don’t just move, through change
The reality is that any successful merger or acquisition lies in outcomes. Addressing cultural divides head-on, implementing strategic integration techniques, and focusing on the defined goal are non-negotiable. It’s not done by making easy decisions. Leaders are responsible for shaping a shared vision, one that restates the combined organization's purpose and accepts nothing less than unified commitment in terms of values, norms and results.
Totango believes that recurring revenue is a rhythm — not one note. It’s a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, led by the customers you’ve got. So, they meet their goals, and you meet yours.
Learn how Totango can help your business put revenue on repeat.
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