Key event 3 · The what
Synergy tracking: big rocks first
In short
Synergies are delivered when they are few, owned and tracked. In the Synergy Working Session, four to six weeks after closing, leadership puts every synergy on one table, picks the big rocks that carry most of the value and sets the pebbles aside on purpose. Each big rock gets an owner, a milestone, a type and a probability of implementation, and one tracking tool serves the steering committee and the line alike.
Why synergy lists get long, and value gets thin
Every deal comes with a synergy case. After closing, that case tends to grow: every workstream adds its own ideas, every harmonisation looks like a saving, and soon there are hundreds of lines. Each one takes attention from people who also have to run the business.
The value of a deal usually sits in a few big moves. The rest are pebbles: small harmonisations that drain energy and add little. Delivering synergies starts with deciding which is which.
The Boulder Beach principle
If you fill a jar with sand and pebbles first, the big rocks no longer fit. Put the big rocks in first, and the rest finds its place around them. In an integration, the big rocks are the few synergies that carry most of the value; the pebbles are the many small things that can wait or be left alone.
Leaving pebbles aside is a decision, not an oversight. It is written down, with a “later” list and a “not to do” list, so people know what they can stop worrying about.
The Synergy Working Session
The third key event takes place four to six weeks after closing, with the leadership team and the workstream leads. By then, the teams know the business on both sides from the inside, thanks to Week One.
- All revenue, opex, capex and liquidity synergies go on one table.
- Each synergy is assessed: value, effort, timing and probability of implementation.
- The big rocks are chosen; the pebbles are set aside on purpose.
- Owners and milestones are assigned.
- One tracking tool and one reporting rhythm are agreed.
Every synergy needs four things
Every synergy needs an owner, a milestone, a type and a probability. Otherwise it is an aspiration.
- Owner: one person in the line organisation, not a committee and not the project office.
- Milestone: what will be true by when, so progress can be seen before the money arrives.
- Type: revenue, opex, capex or liquidity, because each one is delivered and measured differently.
- Probability of implementation: an honest view of how likely it is, so the plan adds up to a realistic number.
One tracking tool
Synergy tracking fails quietly when the steering committee looks at one spreadsheet and the line works from another. Agree on one tool that both use, updated in the weekly cadence: status on Friday, review on Monday, steering committee on Wednesday.
Report each big rock on status, progress against milestones, decisions needed, risks and the value delivered so far. When a big rock slips, the steering committee hears it early and decides.
Revenue synergies need people
Cost synergies are mostly decided by leadership. Revenue synergies are created by people: sales teams who trust the new product, customer service that still knows the customer, engineers who share what they know. Protect customers first, so the new company is the easiest company to do business with, and keep the people who carry the relationships.
Result: focus that fits alongside the day-to-day business.
Questions leaders ask about synergy tracking
When should synergies be prioritised after closing?
Four to six weeks after closing, in the Synergy Working Session. By then the teams know both businesses from the inside, the weekly cadence is running, and the synergy case can be turned into a short list of big rocks with owners.
What is the Boulder Beach principle?
Put the big rocks in first. Leadership picks the few synergies that carry most of the value and deliberately sets aside the pebbles, the many small harmonisations that drain energy. Each big rock gets an owner, a milestone, a type and a probability of implementation.
How do you track synergies after an acquisition?
With one tracking tool used by both the steering committee and the line, updated weekly. Each synergy has an owner, a milestone, a type (revenue, opex, capex or liquidity) and a probability of implementation, so progress is visible before the value shows up in the accounts.