# The founding moment of a merger > A climate scale-up had just been acquired by a large group and brought together with that group’s climate team. The two teams did not know each other. In two days, they really met, asked their questions about the merger and wrote their mission and values together. *Real case, anonymised: the company name is invented.* - Company (invented name) : Calvène - Sector : Climate consulting and software - Size : A scale-up and its acquirer’s climate team: a few dozen people - Format : Two days, residential - Audience : The whole scale-up team and the acquiring group’s climate team, spread over several cities: a few dozen people. - URL : https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/cas-clients/fusion-moment-fondateur ## Context - A recent acquisition, after months of remote work. Many had never met. - Concerns on both sides: recognition of skills, the scale-up’s independence, the shared rules. - Leadership wanted a founding moment, the first of a tradition, not a briefing. ## The challenge Three intentions to hold together: define a mission and a first set of values, welcome every question about the merger, and create a real encounter, human as much as professional. With a realistic aim: agree on directions rather than a final sentence. ## Design ideas - **A representative sponsor group** : The offsite was prepared with a small group drawn from both teams and several roles. Its meetings set the intentions, the tone and the topics that could not be dodged. - **The wall of questions** : Everyone writes their most burning question alone, hangs it in a gallery, then discusses it in threes: what surprises, what resonates. The wall is not just an opener: it becomes the material for the next day’s workshops. - **Outdoor business kiosks** : Each business line runs a kiosk. Teams split the kiosks between them to be “the eyes and ears” of the others, then report what they saw. People discover the other entity’s work without visiting everything. - **The meeting carousel** : Two concentric circles, one entity on each side. The circles turn at the sound of a gong. A quirky identity card gets things going, so people talk about themselves before their jobs. - **The mission explained to a child** : For the mission, a simple brief: explain it to a seven-year-old, or let the climate speak. A printed glossary helps tell mission, vision, values and operating principles apart. - **Moments that are “for nothing”** : A walk in threes through the grounds, a dance workshop, an evening of piano and song. That is often where the two teams started to become one. ## Run of show ### Day 1 - **The frame** : Speak with intention, listen with attention. Phones away, timings marked by music. - **The wall of questions** : One question each, in a gallery, then in threes. - **Business kiosks** : Outdoors, two rounds, teams sharing out the kiosks. - **The meeting carousel** : Two circles, one entity on each side, several rounds marked by a gong. - **Tomorrow’s topics** : Drawn from the wall of questions. - Evening · **Dance, piano and song** : A dance workshop, then a musical evening. ### Day 2 - **Walking in threes** : Through the grounds, around a favourite memory from one’s original company. - **The merger plan** : Presented by leadership, then questioned by the room. - **Focus workshops** : Mission, values, synergies, rituals, what we want to keep… In two rounds, with cross-pollination. - **Pulling it together** : A timeline and owners for each topic. - **One voice** : What we will tell those who were not here, with one voice. - **Reflection** : What each person takes away from the two days. ## Deliverables - A full report, designed to bring along those who were not there: the wall of questions sorted into families, a summary of the merger plan, one sheet per topic. - A mission in a long and a short version, and a first set of three values. - A three-step roadmap and a shared monthly ritual, started straight away. - A cold debrief with leadership, which shaped what came next. ## Key takeaways - In a merger, people meet before they organise. The meeting formats, kiosks and carousel, did as much as the workshops. - Welcoming every question, even the uncomfortable ones, defuses more than you expect. The wall of questions set the next day’s agenda. - Participants left asking when they would meet again. That is the sign a founding moment has taken hold. Related expertise : [Collective intelligence](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/intelligence-collective), [Seminar design](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/design-de-seminaire), [Seminar facilitation](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/facilitation-de-seminaire) --- Source: Flow Design, https://www.getflowdesign.com Contact: victoire@getflowdesign.com, marie-violaine@getflowdesign.com, +33 6 72 15 94 77. Request a quote: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/nous-contacter. Draft a run of show online: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/concevoir-mon-seminaire.