It seems to be going around. Digital companies being bought left right and centre. Each trying to explain in there own way why the merger is better for their clients. But not matter how good the final merger might be, the fact is there is a underlying sadness to it.

I have been working for Flow for a few years now and I consider it some what like a second home. I know that sounds really cheesy so excuse me for a second. What I mean is that I have seen it grow, I have had input into it’s direction and I am emotionally invested in it’s future.  Emotion is something that I think about a lot. Humans are weird creatures, and if we are to create delightful experiences, we have to tap into, or at least just try and understand, their emotions. In addition, it’s impossible to be empathetic without an understanding of your own emotions. There is a direct relation between how one feels emotionally and how good their work is. So how can I not be emotionally attached to the work I do and the company that allows me to do it?

So yeah.. loss of the old is sad and I should really mourn the end of Flow as I know it. And I really want to. But every time I think about what I will be loosing I find it hard to not think about what I am gaining. When I first heard about the merger I was scared about losing what we had grown. I did not know much about the culture at Deloitte or how corporate it was. Things like HR, profit targets and dress code jumped to mind. It scared the living shit out of me. I even had a dream one night about leveraging the synergy through the value chain. Oh God was this really happening?

But now I know more. I have met and worked with the Deloitte team and it’s really hard not to be excited. Finally the things that we have found hard to do will be possible. Development is one such area. Communication between design and development needs to be seamless and ongoing. We need to be sitting with the development team discussing points of pain and figuring out how we can exploit the technology to better the design. We have found this to be very difficult up until now, but with our very own team of exquisite developers sitting next us, we can practise what we preach.

Secondly we often come into the process a bit too late. Business has made a decision and we have to apply that discussion in an interface. We sometimes find in our research that the business decision might not be the best for online, but by that time it’s too late. “The decision has been made”. We would love to be more involved in the upfront digital strategy of a company and helping them make these decisions much sooner in the process. With Deloitte we can do exactly that.

There are still many unknowns and just like every change, there will be a sadness attached to the loss of the old, but right now Im willing to accept the moving towels because I am exited about about the benefits. It just can’t come soon enough.