Corporate Diplomacy

CORPORATE DIPLOMACY
To create effective interfaces and value-generating synergies where inefficiencies or conflicts prevailed

The rise of corporate diplomacy is a global phenomenon driven by a number of parameters. One is a dramatic upsurge in Merger & Acquisition (M&A) activity. Idle cash sitting on U.S. corporate balance sheets is at its highest relative level in decades. Corporations may elect to use this cash for business expansions, stock buy-backs, or dividend increases. But many economic headwinds face the U.S., European and other economies, including high unemployment, sluggish consumer spending, rising commodity prices and the fear of tightening credit. Prospects for increased corporate earnings stemming from sales or organic growth thus appear limited. Further, stock buy-backs may have limited appeal, particularly if stock prices and market valuations increase; so may dividends, if the threat of unfavorable taxation policies is carried on.

In the United States, the decline of the imperial CEO resulting from the constraints imposed on senior executives by Sarbanes-Oxley and activist boards is another key driving force behind the rise in corporate diplomacy. The chairman and CEO, faced with an array of diplomatic challenges, is given a charter to persuade. In other regions, the rise in corporate diplomacy may also be fueled by a combination of growth, globalization, democratization, and the need for business executives to play an active role in influencing governmental rule making and shaping public perceptions, resulting in major re-architecting of business-government relationships.

It takes a lot of diplomatic skill to strike M&A deals, shepherd them effectively through a thicket of regulatory approvals and stakeholder challenges, and to create successful relationships with external (not to mention internal) players. MLI helps its clients and their senior executives advance the corporate interest by negotiating and creating alliances with all key constituencies including other firms’ managers and employees, resellers, suppliers, lenders, governments, unions, analysts, the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

MLI helps you instill the diplomatic mind-set throughout your organization. We start with the gathering of real-time, mission-critical intelligence from all parties involved in the trust-enhancing and value-creating chain and use our unique experience, know-how and tools including our expertise oriented architecture to help you build successful relationships and ecosystems, drive better integrations, burnish reputations through unique diplomacy, all predictors and/or pillars of winning mergers, reorganizations, and ambassador missions. Areas where MLI may contribute its skills and processes include, but are not limited to:

1. Corporate governance strategies and risk mitigation
2. Strategic Vision and leadership, definition of core values and responsibilities
3. Power and Culture Strategies
4. HR/People Strategies
5. Operating synergies including customer acquisition and retention, procurement and supplier management, IT processes
6. Financial Strategies
7. Value-creation strategies (costs, economies of scale, revenues, cross-selling)
8. Communications Strategies

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