Practical Strategies and Tips for Navigating Mergers, Acquisitions, and Collaborative Work Environments
In this episode, Petr Mitev, Vice President of Product Design at Enscape, explains how his experience in working with software for architects lead to his career in product design. Petr also walks us through the growing pains and successes of dealing with mergers and acquisitions and how important it is to let your creatives have individualism.
Practical Strategies and Tips for Navigating Mergers, Acquisitions, and Collaborative Work Environments
In this episode of the WandrFul Podcast, we had the pleasure of hosting Petr Mitev, the Vice President of Product at Enscape. Enscape is a software product that empowers architects and designers to create real-time renderings and virtual reality experiences. With a background in architecture and traditional design, Petr has a wealth of experience in the field. He has worked with the research group at Kirin Timberlake and served as the head of application development and design computation at NBBJ. Through these roles, Petr has successfully merged his expertise in informal architectural design with his passion for empowering technology. His main focus lies in leveraging Product Experience and knowledge of the architecture industry to create solutions that effectively improve the environment and address the pressing questions we face as builders of tomorrow. Let's dive into the insightful tips Petr shared with us.
Leveraging Product Experience to Create Solutions with Petr Mitev | WandrFul Design Podcast Ep. #13
- As teams grow larger during a merger or acquisition, ensuring that all stakeholders feel heard becomes crucial. It's essential to carefully collate the diverse voices and perspectives into a cohesive and well-defined strategy for success.
- Effective communication and management styles vary from person to person. While small companies may find it easier to tailor their communication to individual team members, it remains equally vital for larger companies. Losing sight of the importance of individuality and understanding how motivation and communication vary can lead to losing key personnel.
- Finding the right balance between soliciting input from team members and taking the lead can be challenging. Clear goals from the outset play a significant role in drawing this line. When goals are specific, such as targeting a new user base or enhancing accessibility to specific features, it becomes easier to determine when a critical mass of input or data points has been reached.
- Petr emphasizes that going through a merger or acquisition is a profound learning experience. His top advice is to remain open-minded and invest time in learning about the other side. It's essential to recognize that feelings of uncertainty or fear may exist on both sides of the fence. Despite potential competitiveness, success should be viewed as a collective achievement rather than an individual one. Moving forward, both entities should strive to operate as one.
Working Remotely
Tip: If your team operates remotely or spans across different countries, try organizing at least one annual gathering to foster a sense of togetherness. Ending the day with a celebratory party can leave a positive and memorable impression.
- When working remotely, it's crucial to acknowledge and address cultural and behavioral differences between yourself and your coworkers. Take the time to get to know each team member and spend more quality time together, whether in person or virtually. Maintaining open and honest communication about expectations is key.
- If you are a product leader working with international teams, Petr's best advice is to recognize and respect individualism. Understanding that everyone has different preferences for how they work will help you navigate cross-cultural collaborations more effectively.
Petr’s Reading Recommendation
Petr's recommended book for product leaders is "Creative Selection" by Ken Kocienda. This book offers valuable insights into Apple's creative process and decision-making, providing inspiration and guidance for those in the product development field.
“It’s basically about the early days of product development at Apple, which is, for me, a really fantastic perspective just to kind of, I mean, everybody knows that the company has been successful, right? And still continues to be successful. By the way that they got there and the way that they did iteration specifically on products, on software, for me was really eyeopening as just a process of how to do a creative solution”.
Takeaways
- When going through a merger or acquisition, ensure that all stakeholders feel heard and collate diverse voices into a cohesive strategy for success.
- Effective communication and management styles vary among individuals, so it's essential to adapt to different team members' needs, even in larger companies.
- Clear goals help find the right balance between getting input from team members and taking the lead.
- During a merger or acquisition, remain open-minded, learn about the other side, and recognize that success is a collective achievement.
- For remote teams or those working across different countries, organize gatherings to foster togetherness and end the day with a celebratory party.
- Cultural and action differences may exist between team members, so invest time getting to know each other and maintaining open communication about expectations.
- Recognize and respect individualism when leading international teams.
Quote
“The things that are worth doing are not the easiest things.”
