The First 90 Days: A "No-Theater" Integration
- Schimpf Group
- Dec 5, 2025
- 2 min read
The most dangerous moment in any acquisition is the first 90 days. This is when "Strategic Drift" begins.
The deal team celebrates and leaves. The operational team is exhausted. And the integration plan—usually a 200-page binder—sits on a shelf collecting dust.
This is why we offer Interim Strategic Oversight. We don't just hand you a plan; we embed a "Governance Backbone" to enforce it.
The "Governance Backbone" Playbook
When we step in to oversee a transition, we ignore the fluff and focus on three "Hard-Nosed" phases.
Phase 1: Audit & Prioritize (Days 1–30) We don't try to fix everything. We map the "Quick Wins" that fund the rest of the integration.
The Theater Move: "Let's align our corporate cultures." (Vague, slow, expensive).
The Hard-Nosed Move: "Let's automate the invoicing system." (Specific, fast, cash-accretive). In our experience, automating a single back-office function often generates a 10% cash flow boost immediately. That liquidity buys you the time to deal with culture later.
Phase 2: Centralize the "Plumbing" (Days 31–60) We build a shared services hub—not to create bureaucracy, but to create leverage. If you acquired three HVAC companies, they shouldn't have three different dispatch systems. We unify the data layer immediately. This creates the "Network Effect" that private equity firms crave but rarely achieve.
Phase 3: Scale with Guardrails (Days 61–90) This is where we test the "Kill Switch." We roll out new processes in waves, not all at once. We define specific KPIs (e.g., "Task Automation Rate > 50%"). If a new tool causes an error spike, we revert immediately. This is the difference between "Growth" (risky) and "Scale" (controlled).
The Exit
By Day 90, the goal isn't just a better company. It is a company that no longer needs us. We document the new "Standard Operating Procedures," qualify the permanent leadership, and hand over the keys to a machine that runs on certainty, not hope.
