There's a rumor going around, centered in Germany, that we're now in our fourth Industrial Revolution.

The manufacturing world is being shaped by technological, demographic, and market megatrends and how companies respond will define their future performance.

We're always forecasting - thinking about what will happen, assessing its likelihood, and contemplating the implications. For CFOs, the stakes are especially high when it comes to the difference between accurate and inaccurate forecasts.

You have an earache and decide it's time to see the doctor. You call the office, sit on hold with a receptionist, and finally schedule an appointment – but not until five days later. As if waiting around for your appointment doesn't waste enough of your time, it's only the beginning of a tedious process – driving 20 minutes to the doctor's office, sitting in a crowded waiting room and filling out paperwork.

By now, it's conventional wisdom: culture can ultimately break even the most seemingly harmonious corporate match. The list of mergers that have faltered or failed because of culture clash is long. Yet despite the many high-profile cautionary tales, very few companies involved in a post-merger integration deal with the culture question as fully and aggressively as they do with, say, capturing value from cost synergies.