AUA: Surviving the Culture Shock of an International Merger

Summary

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Podcast Summary: At Work with The Ready

Episode: AUA: Surviving the Culture Shock of an International Merger
Hosts: Rodney Evans & Sam Spurlin
Date: November 10, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin tackle a listener's question about navigating the culture shock that arises when a smaller European company is acquired by a much larger American counterpart. The hosts delve into the frequently overlooked challenge of cultural integration, offering candid advice and real-world examples drawn from their experience helping organizations transition through mergers and acquisitions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cultural Integration is the Hardest Part

• Rodney emphasizes that most companies treat mergers as primarily financial, operational, or technical challenges, but the real heart of the difficulty is cultural fit and integration.

• [00:43] Rodney Evans:

  "Start from the assumption that the cultural piece is going to be the hardest... One of the reasons that integrations go so poorly is because that isn't baked in to the assumption around the work."

• She urges teams not to underestimate the amount of time and effort this type of work takes, warning that a lack of attention early on leads to friction and avoidable conflict.

2. Acknowledge Power Dynamics & Be Realistic

• Sam addresses the listener's situation—being acquired by a much larger company—and the importance of managing expectations.

• [02:49] Sam Spurlin:

  "...there is a reality when you are a much smaller entity being acquired by a much larger one...there's like a tempering of expectation that I think should probably happen..."

• He suggests focusing on what can realistically be influenced at the team or department level rather than expecting widespread transformation of the acquiring company's established culture.

3. Micro-Cultural Integration

• The hosts recommend identifying opportunities for "bicultural integration" within immediate teams—perhaps bringing valued European practices into local ways of working, even if the organization's broader culture does not change.
• Sam:

  "Can you bring some of the very much needed European ethos around work and what it plays in our lives? Maybe we take some time off every once in a while. Can you bring some of these more micro things into your immediate ecosystem..." [03:29]

4. Recognize and Accept the Reality

• Rodney provides realism, reminding listeners that large acquiring companies often impose their own culture with little room for exceptions, drawing on her experience as a consultant.
• [04:01] Rodney Evans:

  "There is part of this that's like if that's the deal and it's happening anyway for reasons that are maybe good reasons or maybe stupid reasons, it doesn't really matter if that's the reality. It's better to just know that than fight against it."

5. Invest In Cross-Cultural Relationships

• Rodney passionately advocates for investment in real human exchanges—specifically, personnel exchanges and expat assignments—to foster deeper mutual understanding.
• [05:20] Rodney Evans:

  "Spend the money to do some swapsies between teams and do some expat living... it makes a really big difference...to have sat next to my peers in my role...You just can't replicate in...smaller, more superficial moments."

  • She shares a personal anecdote about working for a German investment bank and how extensive exposure to colleagues from different regions fundamentally changed her approach to global teamwork.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rodney Evans [00:43]:

  "My first sort of like, no shit, but seriously, do it recommendation is have the conversation earlier than you think you should about how much work the cultural integration is going to take..."

• Sam Spurlin [02:49]:

  "...your 50 person company's impact on the 10,000 person company who acquired you [may not be huge], so focus on what you can actually control."

• Rodney Evans [05:20]:

  "It made a huge difference working on these multicultural teams, to have sat next to my peers...that you just can't replicate in...smaller, more superficial moments."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:19 – Listener question introduction
• 00:43 – Rodney: Why cultural integration is the hardest and most overlooked aspect
• 02:49 – Sam: Managing expectations as the smaller acquired company
• 03:56 – Hosts reflect on realism vs. optimism in integration scenarios
• 05:14 – Rodney: It's better to understand and accept the dominant culture may prevail
• 05:20 – Rodney's story on the power of team exchanges and long-term relationship building

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Takeaways

• Prioritize cultural integration conversations early—don’t treat them as secondary.
• Temper expectations about large-scale change, especially if you're the smaller entity.
• Focus on influencing your immediate environment—bring positive cultural practices to your team.
• Invest in deep, real-world relationship building across regions to foster true understanding.

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This episode distills the messy realities and necessary humility required for successful cross-cultural mergers, blending practical wisdom with stories that resonate for anyone facing organizational change.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

Welcome back to At Work with the Ready. I'm Rodney Evans and that guy over there is Sam Sperlin.

[B]

Hello, Rodney Evans.

[A]

Every other week we are tackling one tough, thought provoking question from you, our beloved listeners, and sharing a few ideas that might help. So let's dive in. Sam, what do you have for us this week?

[B]

All right, this week's question is I work for a European company that was just acquired by a much larger American one. While we're excited for new opportunities, we both have very distinctive cultures. Not just because we're different companies, but because we come from different countries with their own attitudes toward work. Do you have any tips or strategies for this kind of integration?

[A]

This is going to be tough. So the first thing to say is that I see too many integrations where the assumption is that the work is financial, operational and technical. So it's like, do the dollars work the way that we're supposed to? Can we get the workflows sorted enough that the thing is functioning? And does everybody have the same email handle and slack access or whatever? And in any integration, but in this one in particular, because of the nuances around region, start from the assumption that the cultural piece is going to be the hardest. One of the reasons that integrations go so poorly is because that isn't baked in to the assumption around the work. And then when cultural norms, whether they are organizational or regional, start to crop up, people are like, surprised. And like when timelines get screwed up because all of these assumptions were made that these cultures were just going to somehow naturally and seamlessly integrate together magically, there's a lot of frustration. And then it presents as tension and it presents as interpersonal conflict and it presents as this problem that everybody should have seen coming from a mile away. And so my first sort of like, no shit, but seriously, do it recommendation is have the conversation earlier than you think you should about how much work the cultural integration is going to take and that, like, you're not going to hack it and do it in 10% of the time, it is going to take conversation and discomfort and negotiation and compromise and winning and losing, and that is going to be more work than any other part of the project. And because that conversation doesn't happen and that kind of slack isn't built in to the project, it either gets rushed or overlooked or done poorly or it gets done grudgingly and by a bunch of people who are already pissed off.

[B]

Yeah, I agree with all of that. The part of the question that's kind of Stuck in my brain right now is the fact that it's a much larger American one, the much larger side of things, acquiring a small European company. And I think everything you said is true and I think there is a reality when you are a much smaller entity being acquired by a much larger one that I don't want to be a pessimist here, but there's like a tempering of expectation that I think should probably happen, which I would then focus into the more micro, into the, you know, the team that you are now being integrated onto. Can you create an opportunity for some like bicultural integration? Can you bring some of the very much needed European ethos around work and what it plays in our lives? Maybe we take some time off every once in a while. Can you bring some of these more micro things into your immediate ecosystem and not stress too much about, you know, your 50 person company's impact on the 10,000 person company who acquired you?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which I don't know, maybe is too negative, but that's where my brain is today.

[A]

Well, I think what we're both actually pointing to though, Sam, in our different answers is that the biggest problem with integrations is that the realities of them are ignored and then creep up. And like I worked with a really, really big company for several years and I can't remember what they called M and A, but they didn't have the word acquisition in it. It was like mergers and joint ventures or something like that, mergers and partnerships. And the truth was that the dynamic was exactly what you're saying, which is this behemoth of a company that was a hundred years old or something gobbled up small companies and then just steamrolled and imposed their exact culture, rules, norms, everything onto these small companies. And there was no exception to that rule. And so like there is part of this that's like if that's the deal and it's happening anyway for reasons that are maybe good reasons or maybe stupid reasons, it doesn't really matter if that's the reality. It's better to just know that then fight against it. If that's sort of the foregone conclusion.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's, I appreciate the realism of that answer.

[A]

The other thought that I have, I have seen this work in companies, especially where there are regional cultural differences, spend the money to do some swapsies between teams and do some expat living. It just, it makes a really big difference. When I was working for an investment bank, I worked for a German investment bank. And at the time that I was there, Global mobility was very much in fashion. And it made a huge difference working on these multicultural teams, to have sat next to my peers in my role. And truly, like, one from the London office and one from the Frankfurt office sat on either side of me for 18 months. And I showed up to global meetings very differently because of the relationships and the nuanced understanding that I had of how those people did their work, how, like, work was done in their countries, et cetera, et cetera, that you just can't replicate in, like, smaller, more superficial moments.

[B]

Yeah, I love that. All right, that's it for this mini. If you've got a question of your own, hit us [e-mail] we will see.

[A]

You back next week for a full episode of At Work with Ready. Thank you for listening.