Chapter 6
The frustration of agendas
Read Time:
1 Minute 44 Seconds
The world of Silo’s is not usually a deliberate construct.
It can be; it can be a corporate structure to organise and delegate – to save confusion and allow those with the expertise to control and produce within their speciality.
But then – that wouldn’t be called “Silos”.
A Silo situation is one where information is deliberately kept from someone or some other department who would likely want a say in whatever is being done or planned to be done.
A Silo can be a separate grouping that includes a third party, an outside provider or partner who is being protected – not in any malicious of devious way, but simply to make life simpler.
They are easy to work with, they have a history which means very little needs explaining to them – they understand.
The issue with both is the lack of co-ordination and transparency.
When agenda’s don’t coincide the whole operation can suffer – or at least not advance as quickly or effectively.
There isn’t room here to cover all the consequences of all the versions of siloed operations – the NHS is a major example of how many layers of siloing frustrate operational efficiency and clinical best practice.
Most of us have some experience of that frustration – yet it can be extinguished with a clear “un-siloed” vision.
VISION
So let’s keep this in our area.
When we work with a client on Branding (example) we’re not just looking to effect an RoI through sales and create a memorable image – we’re also looking to inspire staff, management, stakeholders and associates to support the company, organisation or charity.
For this we need champions within the business who can get behind the co-created vision and carry that good vibe with them to all their colleagues.
Often, if we don’t have the brief or cooperation to do that, it matters not one bit.
But in siloed groups where there is internal competition, friction and agendas (sometimes budgetary, sometimes personal) our job can be made so much harder when everything we are doing, in good faith and trust is knocked off track – which costs the client more with us or elsewhere, wasting the budget already spent or taking the edge of a successful partnership – that could have lasted years and helped to grow the client’s business.
Have the Silo conversation at the outset, make us aware of how your company structure might react to our creative input and organisation, and let us help lubricate the frameworks that could bring everyone onto the same page.
Destroy the Silos!
