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15. Juli 2026 – PMIspective – Der IKEA-Effekt im Buy-&-Build: Gekauft ist noch lange nicht gebaut – PMI-Expertentalk

July, 15, 2025 - PMIspective - The IKEA Effect in Buy-&-Build: Bought Doesn't Mean Built

Press release: "Corporate group fully integrated following successful buy-and-build."

Reality: Four phone systems, three ERP systems, two business card designs. And one CEO who's running on fumes.

The CEO built his company from scratch. Now he's supposed to combine it with four others. Without instructions. That's a completely different job.

Leading and integrating are two different things. Anyone who believes one person can simply do both will pay the price: a flat-pack that looks like a corporate group on paper, but in practice consists of grumpy concrete blocks.

In this PMIspective session, we'll have a closer look at the moment when the buy is done and the build isn't quite getting off the ground. When does a transformation manager need to step in alongside the CEO? What does he actually do? And how do you recognise that moment while the numbers still look good?

With insights, practical tips and real stories from PMI professionals.

πŸ“† 15 July 2026, 1:00–1:40 pm CET
πŸŽ™οΈ Host: Dr. Carsten Friedrichs, The Hardt Group
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We look forward to your stories!

Can't make it this time?
No worries – the next PMIspective is scheduled for September 9. Save the date!

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3. Juni 2026 – PMIspective – Fully Remote Target: Das Problem sitzt nicht auf Bali – PMI-Expertentalk

June 3, 2026 – PMIspective – Fully Remote Target: The problem isn’t in Bali – PMI Expert Talk

A traditionally run company acquires a fully remote target. No shared office, no door to knock on, no casual chats by the coffee machine.

Staff are spread across the globe, Slack ist he new conference room, and asynchronous communication between Cairns and Castrop is the norm.

The integration plan kicks off. And the first challenge doesn’t come from the target.
It comes from within.

The buyer’s own workforce watches. Draws comparisons. And draws its own conclusions. What’s on their minds isn’t in any integration plan: What does this acquisition mean for how we work? Who decides? And when?

From this PMI perspective, you’ll take away:
βœ… Why the buyerβ€˜s own workforce is the hidden risk in fully remote acquisitions
βœ… Which governance decision must be made before closing and why it rarely is
βœ… How buyers hold on to the people they paid so much to acquire

Drawing on real M&A experience, straight talk over spin, and examples from integrations where the problem isn’t in the target’s Slack channel β€” it lives in the buyer’s own corridors.

πŸ“… June 3, 2026
πŸ• 1:00 - 1:40 PM
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We look forward to your stories!

Can't make it this time?
No worries – the next PMIspective is scheduled for July 15 Save the date!

About PMIspective

22. April 2026 – PMIspective – Low-Budget-Integration: Was geht trotz Leverage? – PMI-Expertentalk

April 22, 2026 – PMIspective – Low-Budget Integration: What's possible despite leverage? – PMI Expert Talk

What happens to integration when the PMI budget falls victim to leverage pressure? It happens anyway. Just uncontrolled, unplanned, and in the end more expensive than any PMI investment would have been.

In this PMIspective, we look behind the budget decisions of debt-financed M&A processes and put forward a proposition: integration on a low flame is not half an integration. It’s a smart one.

Our panel of experts will discuss:
What needs to be thought through from the outset, even under budget pressure?
What can wait and how do you make sure it really does just wait?
And why is "low flame" a strategy and not a declaration of bankruptcy?

With insights from M&A practice, plain speaking rather than whitewashing and examples of integrations that worked despite tight budgets. And some where the final bill was twice what it needed to be.

πŸ“† April 22, 2026
πŸ• 1:00 - 1:40 PM
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We look forward to your stories!

Can't make it this time?
No worries – the next PMIspective is scheduled forJune 3. Save the date!

About PMIspective

11. MΓ€rz 2026 – PMIspective – Wieso denn gleich fusionieren? Strategische Allianz als niederschwellige Alternative – PMI-Expertentalk

March 11th, 20226 - PMIspective – Why merge right away? Strategic alliances as a low-threshold alternative – PMI Expert Talk

Mergers are like marriages between strangers.

The strategic logic is sound. The synergies have been calculated. The presentation is convincing.

So you say β€žI doβ€œ.
But you've never worked together on day-to-day operations.

⚑ And then it becomes apparent:
Structures clash. Cultures collide. Integration takes more energy than planned.

Our experience:
❗ Many mergers would have been better off starting as strategic partnerships, or even remaining as such.

In this PMIspective, our panel of M&A experts will discuss the following:
❇️ When an alliance makes more sense than a merger
❇️ How cooperation serves as a reality check before committing
❇️ What questions need to be clarified before saying β€œI do”
Practical advice. Experience-based. Without merger romanticism.

πŸ“… Wednesday, March 11, 2026
πŸ• 1:00 - 1:40 PM
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We look forward to your stories!

Can't make it this time?
No worries – the next PMIspective is scheduled for April 22. Save the date!

About PMIspective

17. Dezember 2025 – PMIspective – PMI-Wunschzettel 2026: Packt aus, was euch bewegt! – PMI-Expertentalk

December 17th, 2025 – PMIspective – PMI Wish List 2026: Share what matters to you! – PMI Expert Talk

πŸŽ„ End-of-year rush. Time for reflection. Time for wish lists. Time to tidy up – in your head, your living room, and your due diligence folders.

What's been on your mind in the world of M&A – somewhere between the scent of closings, value baking and team peace? Which topics from last year are still lying half-opened under the tree? And what deserves one last honest conversation before we all disappear into mulled wine and synergy romance?

Let's talk PMI. Let's unpack it all, in good company, with some good WiFi. In our next #PMIspective, we’re handing over the mic: What topics should be on the table for 2026? What’s on your PMI wish list?

πŸ“… Wednesday, December 17, 2025
πŸ• 1:00 - 1:40 PM
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We look forward to your stories!

Can't make it this time?
No worries – the next PMIspective is scheduled for February 11. Save the date!

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26. November 2025 – PMIspective – Sanierung durch Akquisition: Kaputt + heile = heile? – PMI-Expertentalk

November 26th, 2025 - PMIspective – Fixing through acquisition: Broken + whole = whole? – PMI Expert Talk

πŸ”§ Repairing a broken business through acquisition?

Sounds a bit like:
β€˜My car is broken – I'll just buy another one and glue them together.’ πŸš—βž•πŸš—=πŸš€

Buying a functioning company, integrating it – and ending up with what you always wished for? What looks like synergy on the whiteboard can quickly turn into a rolling construction site in reality:
πŸ”§ IT systems that don't work together without constantly breaking down.
πŸ”§ Processes that block each other.
πŸ”§ Teams that only get going in reverse gear.
And yet, in some cases, it works – brilliantly, even.

In this PMIspective, we discuss:
πŸš— When restructuring through acquisition works – and when it doesn't.
πŸš— How a healthy company can become a catalyst.
πŸš— What prerequisites such a strategy requires.
With real examples from the engine room, honest insights and a healthy dose of realism (and humour).

πŸ“† November 26, 2025
πŸ• 1:00 - 1:40 PM
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We look forward to your stories!

Can't make it this time?
No worries – the next PMIspective is scheduled for Dezember 17. Save the date!

About PMIspective