Why Most Integrations Drift — and How to Take Control Early
By Rob Kerr, M&A Integration Navigator at Kerr Integration
There’s a moment after every deal closes - after the press release, the town halls, the welcome kits - when things should move forward but instead begin to drift.
The noise fades. The energy dips.
Teams wait for direction that doesn’t come.
Managers delay decisions, hoping for clarity.
Momentum quietly slips before anyone realizes it’s gone.
Legal signs the deal. Finance closes it.
But then no one steps in to lead what, for me, is the whole point in doing the deal in the first place - the integration.
Let’s explore those early weeks post-close:
Week One: Visibility Over Vision
In the first week, people don’t expect a perfect plan.
They expect signs of life.
If leaders go quiet after Day 1, employees will assume the integration isn’t real. But when leaders are present - walking the floor, joining syncs, answering questions - it creates stability where uncertainty wants to spread.
You don’t need every answer.
You just need to show up like it matters.
Week Two: Structure the Ambiguity
By Week Two, people begin acting on assumptions.
Without interim structure, each team improvises its own path.
Small decisions begin to diverge:
One team shifts reporting lines.
Another adjusts priorities.
A third creates a new approval process.
Before long, you're dealing with unaligned execution and a growing sense that no one is really in charge.
You don’t need final decisions.
You need functional clarity:
Who reports to whom (even temporarily)
What decisions stay local
What escalates and where
What’s under review
It’s okay to say, “This may change.”
It’s not okay to say nothing.
Ambiguity unspoken becomes resistance unmanageable.
Week Three: Assign Ownership Before Politics Do
By the third week, people stop waiting.
If leaders haven’t made assignments, others will.
Power shifts in ways that may not be desired.
Shadow ownership begins to form.
Influence accumulates in corners of the business where visibility is low but ambition is high. Once it sets in, it's much harder to reverse.
This is also the moment your top performers start making decisions - not about projects, but about whether they still see a future here.
Make ownership explicit.
Name it. Share it. Write it down.
If you don’t assign accountability early, politics will.
And they rarely choose the right leaders.
Don’t Let Integration Drift
If your integration feels slow or off-track, ask one question:
Has someone truly stepped in to lead it?
If reporting lines are unclear…
If no one owns outcomes…
If employees are still waiting for direction…
You’re already behind.
You don’t need perfection in Month One.
You need presence, structure, and ownership - fast.
Integration doesn’t fail overnight.
It drifts, quietly and steadily, until regaining control feels like starting from scratch.
But it doesn’t have to.
Final Note
If your deal has recently closed, or is about to, you have a brief window to set the tone.
Not with a 100-slide strategy, but with early leadership, fast structure, and clear ownership.
That’s how you stop the drift before it starts.
Explore Kerr Integration’s website to discover how we help turn post-deal complexity into clarity and control.