Nearly all industry research seems to confirm that when mergers and acquisitions do work, the integration process was holistic and well exe-cuted. We will highlight five critical issues (Figure 1) hindering M&A success and outline a 7-Step Model to deal with these key factors. How the corporate leadership focuses its energy, as well as the timing and vision that drives employee engagement, impacts post-merger effective-ness. The single most important factor for post-merger success and long-term sustainability is the involvement and integration of employees from the start to create a common New Identity around a Shared Vision.