The "Silos" Problem

Ok, so week 3 and another topic which will be a mix of relections of my own professional journey and of general business problems that we deal with. I will again attempt to put this out in as simple terms as possible.

So "Silos", what do we actually mean by the term. If one were for quote dictionary meaning it will come up as "a tall tower on a farm used for storing grain, etc" and if one were to refer the business meaning of this term it will come up as "the separation of departments or teams". Sounds similar eh!

Well here is where the problem begins. Silos on the farms are designed to ensure effective storage whereas departments in business are meant to be cohesive and co-ordinated. So what we begin to see is while the translation from English to business is literal the effect and outcome is very different.

In a business environment the effectiveness of any operations (and the sub processes involved) lies in how well co-ordinated departments and units are. What we generally see though is the opposite. In the name of specialization departments charter out a separate path for themselves. At times these paths can be overlapping and at times these are set up as parallel lines.

What in effect happens is the below domino effect

1. Departments charter their natural course of execution 

2. The course of execution is created as swim lanes for effective execution.

3. The swim lanes have then boundaries in them which start to become soft barriers

4. Once hardened and specialization sets in these boundaries start to act as barriers to entry and exit of data and people

5. Ultimately it leads to the creation of fictitious issues like this is my team, my data, my goals etc. which then start to supersede the organisation goals

6. This still gets passed as end of the day for every manager the key starts to become it ain't my problem but someone else's

7. And thus we land in a situation of us vs them leaving the core business issues far behind

What can organisations do to not fall in this trap

1. Always have cross functional people available in the team at all key levels. This will ensure the goals being drawn and executed take the bigger picture in mind

2. Success and the effectiveness of it should be 2 different metrics measured separately

3. Department heads should be held liable for overall outcome. 

   For eg - It cannot be I sold you deliver or you go sell and I can only deliver. It is a problem joined at the hip and the ownership of failure and success should be equally at the door of both sales and delivery

4. Support groups should have one goal which is aligned to the overall business outcome with the same weightage as the business. It will imply that the success will feel as sweet as bitter will the loss

5. The core of all this lies at how well separated yet jointly run is Strategy and Ops for one devices and the other executes.

As they say "Jack of all trades but master of none", well I would say in business the 🗝️ to sucesss lies with "Jack of some trades who know the trade well".

As always looking for your feedback. 😃😃

The Leadership Conundrum

Ok, so welcome back all. Hopefully you all liked the last post. In this series of posts on professional life today we will discuss on the word "Leadership". 

A very key term in any setup but one that is much maligned. Why the word "maligned" because howsoever key the term Leadership is, it is used that much loosely.

What defines Leadership - A set of mindsets and behaviors that aligns people in a collective direction, enables them to work together and accomplish shared goals, and helps them adjust to changing environments.

This is a definition by the book. But Leadership in action is above and beyond just a group of words. It is common yet an uncommon trait. As per it's not a trait developed but one which is inbuilt. Let's see below what actually is Leadership and how is it confused with Management or just simply bosses.

1. Leading by example - Sounds simple right. In action it is not that easy. What people generally tend to assume is that leading by example means taking the first step of the ladder. In reality it does not end their. Leadership is climbing all steps and helping those who cannot climb. Examples need to be set by actions and it lies in those small actions, those small things which matter in the bigger picture. 

2. Standing up - Leadership implies standing up for your team. Standing up in crisis and backing them when the chips are low. Stating the obvious is not leadership but silently standing behind is what true leadership is.

3. Lead from the front and back - Leadership requires one to not only lead from the front but also take a step back when needed. This implies giving the team a chance to take the stand and letting them you have their backs. Leaders know accolades and brickbats both stand at their feet.

4. Show the path and also allow others to make one - Leadership puts the team on the right path and also knows when someone in the team is capable enough to build the path and backs them.

5. Self aware - Leadership is the ability to be self aware of oneself and all those in their surroundings. Leaders need not know answers but have the capability to know when and how to find them. 

What we have seen in the above 5 points is an ideal scenario but now we will see where this becomes muddled waters.

1. People assume leadership in action means dropping points here and there. Just merely getting to the starting point is assumed as Leadership in action and that is a big fallacy.

2. Two words of encouragement does not signify standing up. Yes it does help but standing up implies a lot. It's the small actions on a day to day basis that matter the most and not occasional big actions.

3. Everyone wants the coveted top position but no one wants to lead from the back. It is a pride to be the one in front but standing at the end of line and still driving the team ahead is not fanciful.

4. I am the boss and this is the way I have decided. That's the easy part and is oft mistaken as a Leadership trait. This is actually a mistake. 

5. The most challenging part is everyone feels they are self aware but how well one is gets tested in adverse scenarios.

In all the key point is, there is a very thin line between Leadership and Management. What separates a true leader from an everyday manager is how a person is able to draw a line and able to deliver when needed.

Strategy & Operations

Hi,

So back to doing what I dearly want to do but am not able to dedicate time to. Now onwards will try and surely part some time for this. Also, the topics will now be very professional so please bear with me on the same.

Ok, so now coming to the topic of the day. 2 very key words which drive any organisation is any industry. And as a matter of fact oft talked about words but then how deeply and truly are these words resonant to actions end up establishing where an organisation eventually ends up going.

Let's start with a basic scoping of these 2 words.

Strategy - In simple terms it is nothing but at a macro level the direction or path any organisation wants to take. It is planning in motion answering why and how.

Operations - In simple terms it's nothing but a micro level of how things happen. It is execution in motion answering when and what.

Sounds simple right, but then again it is these 2 key aspects where organisations message up. And even if one of them is not done the right way mishaps are bound to happen.

Interconnected words, worlds and key actions.

As a leader what becomes key is that how well are these 2 terms defined and their execution interconnected leads to simplification and hence the growth path. When we plot organisations on the business life cycle which is 

1. Initiation - Here is where strategy takes a key position. It dictates the path, answers right or wrong. It is where the focus of the leader needs to be on the right path selection, right execution and right focus. Organisations who are able to answer at least 2 of the 3 rights are those who progress while the rest fall by the way side. Operations here take a back seat as the set up happens and baby steps taken.

2. Growth - This is the stage where slowly strategy starts taking a macro picture and operations hits the road. The key here is how well is the set up to support operations and what kind of checks and balances have been put in place to drive operations. This is the stage where operations drives & controls output which helps establish an organisation's forte and face.

3. Peak - This is the interesting stage. When you reach here it implies that the strategy was rightly defined and the operations enabled it's execution to the T. What happens here is very interesting. Your initial strategy nears exhaustion and operations has now started to hit blocks, because overtime teething issues do appear. What and how a company does here is very important and listing below some relevant questions to the same.

   i. Based on the initial strategy where was the peak expected and was there a next step defined then for this time.

  ii. What is the scope present in the market to draw/redraw strategy for the next steps

 iii. How refined is the output of data from operations to draw out conclusions and guidance

 iv. Most importantly is there a proper segregation in the organisation leadership that drives strategy and operations

4. Dip - Here is the stage where the challenges are abound. Organisations have tasted success and peak but now do not know what has hit them. The same strategy that worked is now not giving results. Operations has hit a roadblock and the gates defined earlier have now become choked points.

Do you pivot or do you double down and loose more. Does pivot even give a meaningful way ahead. These are key questions which ultimately decide is there a path ahead or does this lead to the dead end.

And thus the cycle keeps repeating or it is an end of the road. 

What one needs to understand is that strategy is values, strategy defines competency, strategy defines identity and most importantly strategy is the core. Operations is where the mixture of values and competency happen. Strategy keeps the identity intact and the core running. 

Any successful organisation will have a strategy for every peak and operations defined to handle every growth and dip. They will have the right separation and mix of these 2 key aspects and that is where the path lies to success.