The Goal of This Post

In this post, I share some of my favorite passages from the book Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars, by Patrick Lencioni.

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The Problem: Silos

Silos are nothing more than the barriers that exist between departments within an organization, causing people who are supposed to be on the same team to work against one another.

• In most situations, silos rise up because executives fail to provide their employees with a compelling context for working together.
• Leaders must establish a rallying cry; to create a common sense of purpose, and a context for interdependency for the organization.

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The Model

The model for combating silos consists of four components:

1. A thematic goal
2. A set of defining objectives
3. A set of ongoing standard operating objectives
4. Metrics

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1. THEMATIC GOAL

A single, qualitative focus that is shared by the entire leadership team; and ultimately, by the entire organization; and that applies for a specific time period.

• The thematic goal brides the two; makes the vision tangible and the tactical objectives have context.
• A company should find a way to rally people around a common cause before a crisis hits.
• Teams often perform at their best when their backs are up against a wall.

Single.
The purpose of the thematic goal is to provide clarity around whatever is truly most important.

Qualitative.
It is a general statement of a desired accomplishment. It rallies people to do something.

Time-Bound.
It is a desired achievement that is particularly important during that period, and must therefore be accomplished in a corresponding time frame.

Shared.
The thematic goal applies to everyone on the leadership team. It is critical that all team members take responsibility for the goal, and for doing anything they can to move the company toward the accomplishment of that goal.

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2. DEFINING OBJECTIVES

Defining objectives are temporary, qualitative components of the thematic goal; shared by all members of the leadership team.

• They give the thematic goal actionable context so that members of the team know what must be done to accomplish the goal.
• They are the building blocks of the thematic goal.
• They serve to clarify exactly what is meant by the thematic goal.

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3. STANDARD OPERATING OBJECTIVES

The ongoing priorities of the organization; other key objectives that a leadership team must focus on and monitor.

• They are the ongoing operating requirements.
• They are always important, but not enough to generate success on their own.
• They often include topics like revenue, expenses, customer satisfaction, productivity, market share, quality, etc..

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4. METRICS

Measurement criteria for both the defining and standard operating objectives.

• They can be quantitative or qualitative. Often they are dates by which a given activity will be completed.
• They should become your scoreboard or your grounding tool for every meeting.
• The key is reviewing them during your staff meetings.

On the Scorecard.
Without clarity of a scorecard that includes defining objectives and standard operating objectives, it is extremely difficult for the team to focus on the things that matter most… Metrics keep that information alive in the course of running the organization.

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Final Thoughts

On Intention.
The key is to rally the entire leadership team around a single purpose for a given period of time, while simultaneously continuing to operate the company to plan.

On Framing.
What is the single most important accomplishment that the team needs to make in the next six or nine months?
What do you want to see happen during the next nine months?

On Accountability.
While they must share responsibility for the thematic goal and pitch in to achieve it, they must also hold one another accountable over the long term for meeting standards of performance.

On Long-Term Context.
Successful organizations achieve a delicate balance between predicting what is going to happen over the long term and responding to unexpected circumstances along the way.

On BHAGs.
The thematic goal ties it all together. Without it, the BHAGs lose connection to day-to-day activities, and weekly metrics become arbitrary and lifeless.

On Clarity.
When a thematic goal is clearly established and communicated; employees should be able to see how the company’s long-term vision connects to its short-term objectives.

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One Last Takeaway. Sum it Up.

Consider the time and energy that will be saved by providing your team with a unifying sense of purpose, by giving them an understanding of how everyone contributes to that purpose, and by making it easy to get employees throughout the organization rowing in the same direction.

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All content credit goes to the author. I have shared the bits I enjoyed the most and found most useful.

Cheers ’till next time! Saludos!
Alberto