Purpose
Convert a list of synergy initiatives and their current status into a clear picture of realized value versus target, flag which initiatives are at risk of missing their number, and prescribe corrective actions the integration team can execute this reporting cycle. Solves the core IMO problem: knowing whether the deal thesis is actually being delivered — and where to intervene before value leaks permanently.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Track synergy realization against the deal target or business case
- Build a synergy status dashboard for the IMO steering committee or board
- Diagnose why synergy capture is behind plan
- Identify which integration initiatives are at risk of missing their number
- Prepare a monthly or quarterly synergy update for the CFO or deal sponsor
- Recommend corrective actions to recover slipping synergy value
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Initiative list: Each synergy initiative by name, with owner and workstream (cost, revenue, or capital)
- Target value per initiative: Annualized run-rate synergy target and the phasing/timeline to reach it
- Realized to date: Value actually captured so far per initiative (run-rate or cumulative — specify which)
- Current status inputs: Percent complete, milestone status, or a status color per initiative
- Reporting period: The as-of date and where you are in the integration timeline (e.g., Month 8 of 24)
- One-time costs to achieve: Investment/cost-to-capture spent or committed per initiative, if tracked
- Known risks or blockers: Any flagged issues — attrition, system delays, customer dis-synergy, regulatory holds
If realized value is provided only as cumulative but targets are run-rate (or vice versa), state the basis you are using and normalize consistently. If cost-to-achieve is not provided, calculate gross synergy only and note the omission.
Instructions
Step 1: Normalize and Categorize Initiatives
Group all initiatives into three synergy types and confirm the value basis:
- Cost synergies: Headcount, procurement, facilities, vendor consolidation, IT rationalization
- Revenue synergies: Cross-sell, pricing, channel expansion, retention — treat these as higher-risk and longer-dated by default
- Capital/one-time synergies: Working capital release, capex avoidance, asset disposals
Confirm every initiative is on a consistent basis (annualized run-rate recommended). Flag any initiative missing a target or a realized figure — it cannot be scored.
Step 2: Calculate Realized vs. Target
For each initiative compute:
- Realized value (to date)
- Attainment % = realized ÷ target
- Time-adjusted expected value = target × (elapsed phasing % that should be captured by this reporting date)
- Variance to plan = realized − time-adjusted expected value
The time-adjusted comparison is the critical one: an initiative at 40% attainment is on track if only 40% should be captured by now, and behind if 70% should be. Do not judge attainment against the full-year target alone.
Roll up to portfolio level: total target, total realized, total time-adjusted expected, and overall variance to plan — split by cost / revenue / capital.
Step 3: Assign Status and Flag At-Risk Initiatives
Apply a consistent RAG classification against time-adjusted plan:
- Green (On Track): Variance to plan within −5%; milestones current; no open blockers
- Amber (At Risk): Variance to plan −5% to −20%, OR a key milestone slipping, OR an open blocker with a recovery path
- Red (Off Track): Variance to plan worse than −20%, OR a milestone missed with no recovery date, OR value now judged unachievable
For every Amber and Red initiative, diagnose the root cause from these common failure modes:
- Milestone/dependency slippage (e.g., system cutover delayed)
- Talent attrition removing the person who owned the saving
- Revenue dis-synergy (customer churn or channel conflict from the deal itself)
- Over-optimistic phasing (target was real but timeline was not)
- Double-counting or leakage (savings captured but offset by cost creep elsewhere)
- Governance gap (no clear owner or stalled decision)
Step 4: Recommend Corrective Actions
For each Amber and Red initiative, prescribe 1–2 specific, ownable corrective actions with a named lever, not a platitude. Examples of the specificity bar:
- "Re-phase the procurement saving: pull forward the top-3 vendor renegotiations to close by [next milestone], defer the tail spend to next quarter."
- "Escalate the ERP cutover dependency to the steering committee — it is gating $X of IT rationalization; request a decision date."
- "Backfill the departed workstream owner within 2 weeks or the $X headcount synergy slips a full quarter."
Rank the full set of corrective actions across the portfolio by value-at-risk recovered, so the IMO knows where to spend its limited intervention capacity.
Step 5: Portfolio Outlook and Deal Thesis Check
State plainly whether the total synergy target is on track, at risk, or off track for the deal timeline. Quantify:
- Total value at risk (sum of Amber + Red gaps to plan)
- Recoverable vs. structurally lost (which at-risk value corrective action can save vs. which should be re-forecast down)
- Net cost-to-achieve position if one-time costs were provided (realized synergy net of cost-to-capture spent)
Be direct: if the target should be re-forecast, say so and give the revised number.
Output Format
- Structure: Dashboard-style status document — portfolio summary at top, initiative-level detail table, then at-risk deep dive and ranked actions
- Length: 700–1,000 words plus tables
- Format: Structured document with tables (initiative table + summary rollup) and short diagnostic prose for at-risk items
- Sections: Portfolio Summary (realized vs. target, RAG counts, total value at risk) → Initiative Status Table (name, type, owner, target, realized, attainment %, variance to plan, RAG) → At-Risk Deep Dive (root cause per Amber/Red) → Ranked Corrective Actions → Portfolio Outlook & Re-Forecast Call
- Tone: IMO lead reporting to the CFO — quantitative, unsentimental, decision-oriented; leads with the number and the ask
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Every initiative has a target, realized value, attainment %, and variance-to-plan figure — none left blank
- [ ] Status is judged against time-adjusted plan, not full-year target (an on-schedule initiative is not flagged red for being partially complete)
- [ ] Portfolio rollup splits total realized and target by cost / revenue / capital
- [ ] Every Amber and Red initiative has a named root cause and at least one specific corrective action
- [ ] Corrective actions are ranked by value-at-risk recovered
- [ ] A clear on-track / at-risk / off-track call is made for the total target, with a re-forecast number if warranted
Notes
- Revenue synergies fail more often and later than cost synergies — hold them to a higher evidence bar and expect the phasing to lag.
- The most common tracking error is judging attainment against the annual target instead of what should be captured by the reporting date; the time-adjusted variance is what separates a real problem from a scheduling artifact.
- Watch for leakage: a saving can be "realized" in one line while cost creeps back elsewhere. If a red flag appears, ask whether the synergy is truly net.
- Cost-to-achieve matters to the CFO — gross synergy captured at unplanned one-time cost is not the win it appears to be.
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills