we take change personally

Lemontopia & Striped Tiger

Brought to you by:Lauren Baker

we take change personally

Plan• Problem

• Greatest Challenges• Biggest Anxieties• Goal

• Plan• Tactic 1-

• Messages and Communication

• Tactic 2-• Training

• Tactic 3-• Focus on Lemontopia

• Tactic 4-• Continual Process• Communication & Feedback

• Conclusion• Things to Address First

we take change personally

Greatest ChallengesChallenges Lemontopia Striped TigerStructure • Family owned for

3 generations• Hierarchical

structure• Product-

Lemonade

• Founded by 2 Stanford MBA students

• Flat• Product-caffeine

drink

Employees • Generally older• Deeply

entrenched in Lemontopia tradition

• Very young• Very educated

Culture • Small town mom-and-pop store

• strong “Lemontopia” tradition

• “the old way of doing things”

• Silicon Valley start-up culture

• Eye on the future• “feeling the pulse

of the next generation”

we take change personally

Biggest Anxieties• Lemontopia

• Skills• Age• Threatened by Striped

Tiger • Nervous about changes

to Lemontopia• Striped Tiger

• Move • Leaving their start-up

culture• Being acquired by a

different company

we take change personally

Goal

• Make Striped Tiger a cohesive part of Lemontopia

we take change personally

Suggestions-Tactic 1

• Messages about Lemontopia’s structure and culture

• Message• Short and simple• Easy to visualize (3 to 4 main points

in a triangle or box)• Supported by keywords, quotes, or

facts• Communication

• Repeat it • Layer it• Share It• Test it

Family Owned

Tradition-“the old way of doing things”

Hierarchical

we take change personally

Suggestions-Tactic 2• Training for Striped Tiger

• Manuals about Lemontopia’s procedures and practices

• Positioning Change• The Bridge: Make desired outcome the default

• Either change with us or don’t come• The Cobra: Compare the change to something

scarier• Global Conglomerate that fires everyone

and puts their own people in power• The Downward Dog: Frame the change in

negative terms• Must reorganize or lose your job

we take change personally

Suggestions-Tactic 3• Focus on Lemontopia (they need

training too)• Sensitivity Training• Education about acquisition• Clearly defined roles and

interactions with Striped Tiger

we take change personally

Suggestions-Tactic 4• Continual Approach (timeframe

issue)• 1-3 months focus on messages• 3-6 months continue to layer and

repeat the messages• 1-6 months focus on training

• Internalize the new way of doing business so employees behave differently and successfully

• Focus employees attention and give them tools and information, so they know what to do, when and how

• 6 months and beyond focus on continued training and messages as well as checking-up on the acquisition

• Communication & Feedback• Develop a system where expressing

and addressing issues or problems is easier and effective

1 2 3 45 6…

messagesSame messages

Check-ups

we take change personally

Conclusion• First things we should address:

• Striped Tiger’s move from San Francisco to Houston

• The acquisition itself with both companies