MANAGING SILOS: Making the Knowledge Economy Work
The Strategic Management Forum is delighted to announce a very special event taking place in London on March 13th. It will explore the insights of Gillian Tett of the Financial Times; Prof. Roger Martin, long-term advisor to the CEO of Procter and Gamble and Professor at Rotman Business School; and Professor Heidi Gardner of Harvard Law School.
Almost every week we hear silos being the explanation given for the cause of problems in organisations and even their complete failure. That's why I was interested in reading Gillian Tett's book on the Silo Effect. After reading it I reviewed it and interviewed her for an article that was published in strategy+business magazine. Gillian's view is that silos cannot be eliminated, not should they be. We just have to learn how to make them effective, rather than problematic. And it can be done.
On my way to interview Gillian it occurred to me that Roger Martin's thinking in his books the Opposable Mind and The Design of Business might offer some solutions. I managed to reach him on the phone to run this by him. He agreed there was much relevance. He also agreed to share a platform with Gillian to explore the links if she were interested in doing so. Then, at the end of my interview with her, I put the idea to Gillian and she also agreed. All of that was some time ago. Gillian Tett serves as US managing editor and is based in the US, whilst Roger is based in Canada. So, making the event happen was never going to be a quick process.
Then, about six months ago my Harvard Business Review contact told me of a new book in the pipeline and sent me an advance reader copy for review. It was Smart Collaboration by Heidi Gardner, which has now just been published and was reviewed in the FT recently. I contacted Heidi, also based in the US, to see if she might participate in the event too. I'm pleased to say she agreed.
So, that is how this event came about. It means we have a line-up of three people with very deep and practical insights into one of the toughest challenges faced by large and medium-sized businesses. It's a problem that has led to massive financial losses and complete business failures. Silos also present great problems in mergers and acquisitions. But the biggest cost is hidden in the value not added due to inefficiency.
Making the Knowledge Economy Work is a remarkable and unique opportunity to explore the issues from a very practical perspective. All attendees will also get a copy of each book.
The event is sponsored by the office design specialists Steelcase as part of our joint programme of events exploring Tomorrow's Work. It is also sponsored by Harvard Business Review.
Also supporting the event: Financial Times and IE Business School's Corporate Learning Alliance, Managing Partners Forum, and the Non-Executive Directors Association.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
The short answer is anyone involved in the governance and management of a larger business or organisation. It is larger organisations that most often face the challenge of making silos work effectively.
TICKETS
Tickets for the half-day event (afternoon) are priced at ￡75 for non-members and ￡45 for members. They are strictly limited and available by application only.
Please email your application stating your name, position, company and contact details. If you require more than one ticket please give the same information for each applicant.
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Project Manager and Business Analyst in WA, Australia
8 年Paul, I believe one of the simplest way of explaining why silos are necessary is to look at a company's Marketing and Legal departments. Nobody ever says that in a large organisation, that Marketing or Legal departments should be eliminated. It's the role of Marketing to examine opportunities - often in a blue-sky way, sometimes with rose-tinted glasses - and it's the role of Legal (and sometimes also Finance) to explain what the risks are, and why exploring some opportunities might be a bad idea. They seem to work against each other, but aren't doing their job unless they come from contrary perspectives. Then it's the role of the C-suite to take all this information, and make measured decisions based on it. Two silos. Different perspectives. Both very necessary. Managed successfully.