After a merger or acquisition, leaders often talk about “blending the best of both cultures.” It sounds ideal—but it’s not how culture really works.

In practice, culture doesn’t merge. It competes. One culture dominates—usually the acquirer’s—and the other adapts or fades. While this can feel Darwinian, it’s not necessarily negative. Integration needs clarity, consistency, and ultimately one cultural backbone.

That said, the acquired company can leave its mark. Over time, fragments of its values or practices may influence the larger whole. But always within the framework of the stronger culture.

So, where should leaders focus in the first year after a deal closes? Three things matter most:

1. Scalability: Capturing value from the deal requires scale. This need drives real cultural and operational change.

2. Power Structure: Build a loyal leadership group inside the acquired company. Resistance and clinging to autonomy slow down integration.

3. Mourning: Acknowledge that employees in the acquired company go through a grieving process. True integration happens when individuals, not groups, embrace the new identity.

For consultants, the lesson is clear: your role isn’t to engineer a “perfect cultural blend.” It’s to guide the natural process, like a midwife—helping transition with as little pain as possible.

Yes, there will always be glossy “culture-merging frameworks” on the market that promise quick fixes. But culture doesn’t integrate in three easy steps. It evolves—through alignment, leadership, and time.