I love this example of how organizational myopia takes hold within silos.
Everyone thinks it’s the ‘silo’ at fault, but there are deeper issues at work…
Learn how to identify and deal with these issues and more in Overcoming Organizational Myopia.
Need help identifying what’s going on, engage Crosscutter Enterprises — we have 30 years’ experience detecting and solving these issues.
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Get good at sporting problems…number one skill everyone in business should have!!!
You wouldn’t think a small business could experience silos and develop organizational myopia, but it can happen.
My wife and I also own an equestrian facility called Fine Print Farms. After reading Overcoming Organizational Myopia, it can be easy to spot silos as well as identify whether they’re causing myopia in any business.
Fine Print Farms only has about 12 employees, but distinctly different groups exist: Owners and Employees; Barn Management; Property Management; Office Management; and Trainers. These “silos” exist because that’s how we organize and effectively manage operations at the farm.
Myopia sets in when these silos stop working together to achieve the mission and only focus on their own areas. These silos must work together to be effective and sometimes what they do might work against each other.
This book teaches how to identify the root causes of organizational myopia and deal with it.
Confusing Signals in the Office?
Consider your message and signal change appropriately.
Have you ever been driving on the highway and some driver suddenly cuts across from two lanes over to exit, nearly causing an accident?
Ever sat at an intersection waiting for a car to pass so you can get out, when that driver turns at your street without signaling?
How about pushing your grocery cart through the store and someone suddenly stops right in the center of the aisle to grab something off the shelf?
Imagine running your business like this? Starting and stopping, turning, and changing…all the whole time forgetting to signal your actions to your employees and customers.
When you’re planning a change in business, consider all the ways to signal the change. Think of all the trouble it won’t cause!
Listening to another leader proposing to solve their organizational problems by “tearing down the silos.”
Stop tearing down silos!
Overcoming Organizational Myopia shares how silos are just expected in an organization, but we expect them. We, as humans, have a desire to belong. If we don’t belong to our team, then it is much more difficult to effectively perform.
Thus, silos always form. Breaking them down only causes confusion and angst as employees rebuilt their connections (and silos reform).
Learn why organization lose sight of the long range, strategic view and become “myopic.” Then learn how to go about solving it without resulting to drastic and unproductive measures.
Alright you super sleuths, who can find 12 or more things wrong with this picture?
As a business coach and consultant with Crosscutter Enterprises, it is important for me to find the smallest irregularities with a business. This way they can be fixed.
Impress me with your ability…
Attention Military Small Business Entrepreneurs!
The National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC) created the Veteran Entrepreneur Training Symposium (VETS) to help you accomplish your small business goals. The conference will provide you with the information you need to navigate the Federal acquisition process – from the government perspective as well as from successful veteran small business owners.
May 29 – 31, 2019 in San Antonio, TX, is a Business Development Conference created by Veterans for Veterans.
Ten Exhibitor Slots still open! Already over 400 attendees signed up!
Register today at:
https://www.veterantrainingsymposium.com
Have you ever seen this from Disney?
I know this was the first time I saw it!
On the Gallup Q12, Question #8 asks, “Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?”
I’ve studied the Gallup results and looked at many top performing and low performing companies. There are four things that drive engagement in an organization and mission / purpose is the number one.
If Question #8 is a disagree or strongly disagree, the rest of the survey will follow suit.
However, having a strong mission/purpose is only part of the story. Some organizations have done a phenomenal job identifying a very purposeful mission. Then, they fail to effectively communicate it and their leaders fail to live it.
How is your organization’s engagement around its mission and purpose?
Get the book today:
Overcoming Organizational Myopia:
Breaking Through Siloed Organizations https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945151005/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_p7UXCbNQ4RTBH
What if aliens teleported away all your employees?
Obviously, this isn’t realistic, but scenario planning can be a crucial benefit for your organization.
Looking at some of the challenges you currently face, such as have one person that handles a crucial job, or having limited access to people who can do important work that your company does. It’s situations like these that lend themselves to scenario planning.
In the example of someone one deep in a critical position, your scenario could be that that individual just got hit by the “lottery bus.” It’s great to take that concept and put it in front of your executive team. This allows them to really think about what they need to do to protect themselves from failure if something like that were to happen.
A lot of times businesses don’t think about what could happen, and these are the kind of things that really bite them in the butt when they do happen. Often, it’s things that were fine when you started business but now are making your life difficult.
Thinking about these scenarios is very helpful from a planning perspective. Make sure that you keep scenario planning realistic (i.e., not aliens stealing employees). I encourage you to add it to your business planning.
Looking for another job, but still working today?
You’re not alone these days. The job market has improved and people are finding it harder and harder to even get a response from companies when they post for jobs.
Let’s face it, getting a new job is a fulltime job, especially when you’re currently out of work.
As a Coach that specializes in this area, these are the things I tell my clients to consider:
🔭 Research. You have to research all the companies you are interested and the types of jobs they offer. This will give you an idea of levels, requirements, and opportunities. When I look, I tailor every resume to the job. This means fully understanding their mission, vision, culture, and the challenges they might be facing.
🚧 Construct. You need to build your “resume fodder” that best displays your talents and work history. You create a general resume and additional material to use for responding to each requisition individually. Spent a long time in one job or had a period out of work? Consider a Functional Resume over Chronological — I spent 21 years in the Air Force and it was easier to depict my capabilities functionally than chronologically when I retired from active duty.
☎️ Network. Establish at least one strong face-to-face connection in each of the companies that you’re interested in applying with. You need to leverage this internal connection every time you apply for a job with that company. My first job, out of the Air Force, happened because someone put my resume in the system — I didn’t even apply! These people can get you in front of hiring managers, tell you about jobs that haven’t even been posted, and possibly can get you details about the job and challenges that area of the company is facing.
💻 Respond. You need to have alerts set up with companies you like and you need to be on jobs systems like Indeed (#1), LinkedIn (need a Premium account), Glassdoor, etc. every day! As soon as a job is posted that you like, do two things: 1) Tailor your resume and apply immediately. 2) Contact your contact(s) in the company with the job requisition you applied for and a copy of the resume–they can probably figure out who the hiring manager is. In my last company, three times I sponsored someone for a job and they never showed up in front of the hiring manager. Because I had referred them, they did a by-name request and pulled the person into the interview process — all three were hired!
🗣 Interview. All too often, people who get to the interview stage, blow it! If you make it this far, now you are only competing with an average of two to eight people. This is your opportunity. You need to be fully prepared and practiced or you will not perform well. As a hiring manager for years, I’ve seen it all — even one interview where a fellow interviewer was drawing a train going off the tracks on his interview sheet. Each job has it’s own best approach, and you have to plan for it.
🎀 Follow-up. With ever interview, you need to “tie a bow on it.” At the end of the interview, if you want the job, Say It! Few people ask for the job in the interview. After the interview is over, follow-up via email and/or LinkedIn with a thank you…even of you don’t want this job. I’ve had interviews for jobs where I really wasn’t interested or the best fit. However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t a good fit for another opportunity they hadn’t even posted yet! Also, thank the Recruiter that worked with you. They know about all the job openings and might “keep you warm on the stove” if you’re someone they like.
If you’re struggling with finding that next job, consider hiring a career coach. Someone that has been on both sides of the hiring aisle and can really help you. Typically, for normal business professional positions, a coach costs about $100 to $200 an hour and will charge an hour or two of work on your resume. Executive hiring coaches typically charge up to ten times this. Mainly because the salary range and bonus/benefit structure is so much more lucrative. They also have a network and connections that make them very effective.
If you’re looking for a career coach, I work with people mainly looking for business professional and Director / Manager positions. I’m very successful at working with these people to get them hired.
Check out my pages on LinkedIn or Facebook: Crosscutter Enterprises or www.crossctr.com for more information.