J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon knows something about post-merger integration. He's a veteran dealmaker who runs an institution forged from predecessors Bank One, Chase Manhattan, Chemical, First Chicago, J. P. Morgan, Manufacturers Hanover, and National Bank of Detroit (though of course he was helping Sandy Weill build Citigroup when many of those deals were done). In a recent interview in McKinsey Quarterly (registration required) Dimon speaks with typical frankness about integration. Asked how he approaches the massive changes involved, he says: "You know, you have to do stuff, and some people aren't going to understand it." Morale will change when the company's doing better, he adds. What about managers who complain that the mission isn't clear, that morale is bad in their departments? "If we weren't communicating clearly," says Dimon, "you should have come up and said, 'Hey, Jamie, I've got to tell my people something better.'" — Baz Hiralal

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