Ken Blanchard - Collaboration Begins with You: Be a Silo Buster

Collaboration Begins with You

Be a Silo Buster

Ken Blanchard
Jane Ripley
Eunice Parisi-Carew

Collaboration Begins with You

Copyright 2015 by Polvera Publishing, Jane Ripley and Eunice Parisi-Carew

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First Edition
Hardcover print edition ISBN 978-1-62656-617-0
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-62656-618-7
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-62656-619-4

2015-1

Production Management: Michael Bass Associates

Cover Design: Irene Morris Design

Ken Blanchard

To my father and mother, Ted and Dorothy
Blanchard, who came from completely different
backgrounds but modeled collaboration in
over fifty years of marriage.

Jane Ripley

To my late father, Bill (William) Anderson,
who always taught me it is better to collaborate
than to just cooperate. To my mother, Betty,
who provided the support for my research and
the confidence to write it up as a story.
You are my inspiration.

Eunice Parisi-Carew

I would like to dedicate this book not to a person,
but to a community of people who make up the
faculty of NTL Institute. NTL is an organization
committed to democratizing organizations
and social justice. These values are deeply
instilled in its members, and it continues
to be a guiding force in my life.

PART I
A Journey to Collaboration

PART II
Tools and Resources to Create Collaboration

PART I
A Journey to Collaboration

It was the worst shareholder meeting Ive endured in years. The worst! Everybody could see the numbers plain and clear: the Primo project produced no profit. No profit! Zero. Zip. None! Jim Camilleri, CEO of Cobalt, Inc., punctuated the point by slamming his fist on his desk.

Dave Oakman, the division head in charge of the Primo project, had never seen his boss this angry before. It was making him nervous. He kept his mouth shut to give Jim time to blow off more steam.

The whole point of this project was to put some distance between Cobalt and our competition. The idea, in case you missed it, was to generate some revenue for capital investments and to reward shareholders. The fundamentals were great. There was absolutely no reason we couldnt have made money on this thingother than lousy project management. Jim leaned forward and looked Dave in the eye. Can you give me a better reason? What happened here?

Its a long story, Jim.

Lets hear it.

We had departments operating in silos. A lot of people were trying to protect their own interests rather than make the project a success.

Why dont you break that down for me, Dave. What are you talking about? Jims mouth was a straight, grim line.

Dave hesitated. Should he tell the truth, or should he bend it? He knew exactly what the problem was. What he didnt know was whether it was safe to divulge. Considering Jims current mood, telling the whole truth could get him fired.

Dave decided he should fudge it, or at least try to. It was what he usually didand it usually worked.

Primo had some great moments. Dave began with an air of confidencebut he knew he was flying by the seat of his pants.

Great moments? Not from where Im sitting, Jim said.

As you said, the fundamentals of the Primo project were solid. We just encountered some hiccups.

Bleeding money is not a case of hiccups. Quit trivializing this! I want some straight answers. Jims eyes were steely.

Dave recognized that fudging was not going to work this time. He had to come clean.

The truth is, Jim, the group didnt really work as a cohesive unit. Rival departments undermined the project. As long as they got their job done on schedule and their department made a profit, they didnt care what happened to Primo. A bead of sweat on Daves forehead betrayed his uneasiness.

Can you be specific? Jim asked.

For example, I asked for a few of our newer associates to join the project. They had great energy and ideas, but they kept getting sidelined by the department heads who wanted all the glory. Some of our best people were kept off this project by their own leaders. Dave could hear the desperation in his own voice.

Any leaders in particular? Jim asked.

Dave thought about Wayne Lundgren, the veteran manager of the research and development department. Just last week Dave had witnessed Wayne brushing off a helpful suggestion made by Sarah McKenzie, a young engineer in his department.

Id rather not name names, Dave said at last. Besides, its not the people who are the problem. Its the whole culture around here. The words were out of his mouth before he had weighed them. Now he wondered if hed said too much.

Names dont matter, anyway, said Jim impatiently. You were in charge of Primo. You should have fixed it!

Its not that simple, Jim. Certain department heads around here have a lot of power, and they dont hesitate to use it to their advantage. You know Cobalt is riddled with politics.

Jim shook his head. Politics is a way of life. Its part of the environment we live in. I expect my top managers to know how to navigate through the obstacles. And that includes