Successful acquisitions begin and end with a focus on a cultural fit, according to Bill Scheller, CEO of BlackHawk Industrial, Broken Arrow, OK, in M&A: Easing the Transition. If the target company isn't a cultural fit, it can derail the entire process.

If the focus is on making a better and stronger business, it becomes much easier to get everyone compromising and working together. If the cultures clash – “if they’re more about ‘my way’ than collaboration,” Scheller says – it can be a recipe for disaster. But if a company has undertaken the proper due diligence the process can be eased.

“We want them to feel like they’re becoming part of the BlackHawk family,” he says. “It’s sort of like when you get married, you become a part of another family. And it’s about being comfortable with your in-laws and happy with spending Christmases together.”

Read more about successful M&A in M&A: Easing the Transition.