Success Quote by Kevin Rollins

Rollins’s phrasing is the sound of corporate America trying to turn a messy, human, high-stakes event into something that can fit cleanly in a spreadsheet cell. He starts with a deflection that’s also a power move: “you would have to say what is the criteria.” Translation: before you judge us, accept our definition of winning. In merger-land, whoever controls the metrics controls the narrative.

The criteria he offers are tellingly narrow and relentlessly external: stronger financially, took market share, steady footing. No mention of integration costs, culture clashes, talent flight, customer churn, or the quiet operational chaos that often follows a headline-grabbing consolidation. It’s not that those things don’t matter; it’s that admitting them would complicate the story he wants to tell to investors, analysts, and a jittery workforce. “Steady footing” is especially loaded, a calming phrase meant to soothe after the volatility and internal disruption a merger typically unleashes.

Contextually, Rollins is speaking from the executive class’s most defensible terrain: measurable outcomes. Market share and financial strength are the lingua franca of Wall Street, and by foregrounding them he’s anchoring “success” to what can be reported quarterly rather than what might be felt daily inside the company. The intent isn’t just to describe success; it’s to preempt criticism by narrowing the courtroom to a venue where he expects to win.

The subtext is simple: if the stock holds, the deal was right - even if the lived experience inside the merged company is anything but “steady.”