Have you heard the one about the four blind men and the elephant? It’s an ancient parable that teaches savvy leaders how to eliminate the silo phenomenon found in most organizations.
What’s a silo?
Originally, silos were huge containers used to separate and store wheat and other grains found on farms. Now, a silo is a metaphor for groups that work so independently that they are unaware of the interests, goals and achievements of other groups within the company.
What’s wrong with silos?
With single-minded focus, each group vies for resources and makes commitments that may damage the interests or goals of another group. Here’s a common scenario: sales promises to deliver the new software program in six weeks to make a big sale with a new client. Unfortunately, engineering projects that the program won’t be fully debugged for another seven weeks and marketing is saving the rollout for the last quarter, another eight weeks away. Sales, engineering and marketing all blame the others for failing to put the client’s needs first. What a mess. An Action Retreat is the cure.
Four Blind Men and the Elephant
Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village that had no idea what an elephant was. One day the villagers told them, "Hey, there is an elephant in the village today." They decided that even they couldn’t see it, they would go and feel it anyway." All of them went where the elephant was and touched it.
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man who touched his leg. "Oh, no! it is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.
"Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree," said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant. "It is like a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant. "It is like a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and each insisted that he was right. A wise man was passing by and he stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We cannot agree to what the elephant is like. "All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant seems like everything you said."
The Lesson
This is a simple story with a profound lesson. Each perspective is different and valid like threads in a fabric. Individually, the threads are unique but limited. Combining threads creates a rich tapestry that can blanket the needs of your customer, leading to better service and greater retention.
Getting Better Results
The challenge to you is to:
- enable your people to express their own perspective
- explore differing perspectives
- integrate all points of view
- translate that knowledge into a unique customer experience
How to Improve
What are you doing to ensure that everyone from finance to marketing to sales sees ‘your elephant’--your organization or client-- in its entirety? Consider hosting an ‘Action Retreat’ where key members of different divisions spend a day sharing their goals, their frustrations, and their pride with other divisions in your organization. The results can be astounding.
Proven Results
We facilitated a retreat between the buying and the facilities divisions of a major hospital. Each considered their role was critical to saving the life of the patient.
The buyers purchased the instruments and supplies the doctors needed. The facilities division made sure the instruments and supplies were always available.
Each group was correct that their role was essential. Their roles were interdependent and critical to their shared goal: saving lives. Once each group understood this simple fact, they were united in their goals and practices. And, the hospital enjoyed cost savings because the group better coordinated stock and buying functions.
Let us know if we can help you conceive an Action Retreat for your organization.
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