Right? Left? Silos much? What organizations can learn from a candy bar advertising campaign and how they can avoid the same mistakes.
Fifty-four years ago, in 1967, Mars Incorporated introduced the Twix candy bar in the United Kingdom. Twix consists of a “biscuit” applied with other confectionery toppings and coatings, most frequently caramel and milk chocolate.
In 2012, Mars released an ad campaign declaring to their customers that, “It’s time to decide. Which side are you on? Left Twix or Right Twix?” This humorous ad campaign spawned an urban myth about why there is a need for a left and a right Twix.
Left vs. Right Twix?
Allegedly, in 1922 Seamus MacDougal and Earl Mackenzie started the Twix company together; however, the two fought constantly, leading them to divide production between two sites and only partnering when it was time to combine them into a pack. While this is a humorous, clever, and successful ad campaign, it showcased to me what so many organizations struggle with: misinterpreted communication, internal infighting, and the creation of silos.
Cascades vs. Flows
Many disagreements between team members occur due to differences in their understanding of the meaning of words. It is not uncommon for people to draw different meanings to the same word and then argue about the meaning of the word rather than clarifying their positions by using more words. Words have the meanings we assign.
The Twix campaign illustrates this when it describes the difference between the right and left Twix bar. In the right Twix factory, caramel flows on the cookie, while in the left Twix factory, caramel cascades onto the cookie. While the words can be interpreted differently, they are stating the same thing: the biscuit is covered in a layer of caramel.
The disconnect starting with a breakdown in communication and the meaning of what is being said led to the creation of two factories producing the same product. The next evolution in the internal breakdown progression occurs over the manufacturing process.
Many different departments/business units within an organization follow their own set of procedures that work for them and their needs. For example, if you are dealing with inventory, you are more likely to have a very automated process that is strictly enforced and not conducive to special requests. However, if you are in sales, you most likely have a more labor-driven process that changes-based on client requests and needs. Often, anger and resentment occur when each department/business unit does not show respect or understanding for the other departments choice in manufacturing process.
Right, Left, and the Silos
Organizational silos in business terms are defined as the separation of different types of employees, often defined by the department in which they work. When a specific department is working efficiently, like a well-oiled machine, one would think this is an obvious plus for the business as a whole. However, when employees in one department fail to interact effectively and efficiently with those in other departments, business operations can start to suffer, resulting in lost revenue, decline in productivity, bottlenecking in processes and even turf wars between departments. In effect, these organizational silos can become huge barriers within a company and can be very difficult to break down once in place.
In smaller organizations, silos can be fatal to the company as infighting for resources consumes energy better spent on becoming successful. In addition, in these smaller organizations’ silos can form because of being forced to compete for resources. The extreme result of this type of behavior when gone unchecked in what allegedly happened to Twix: The factions within split into separate manufacturing plants that will not speak to each other, even though their goals are aligned.
Build a Bridge/Walkway Between the Factories
What can an organization do to prevent becoming split and divided like in our Twix parable? Start by building a bridge through the three Cs:
- Cooperation: Stop blamestorming. Shift the focus to working together for the greater good.
- Communication: Take more time to reach out and talk with each other and not just through technology (messaging/email).
- Collaboration: Work together to find common solutions to issues.
This starts from the top down. Don’t repeat the mythical mistakes of Seamus MacDougal and Earl Mackenzie. Often these divisions occur from managers with good intentions who are focused on accomplishing their specific goals for their department but conflict with the goals of another’s department. To break this cycle, managers must have the vision that a free flow of information will help the entire organization. When people across the company have the same objectives, they are more likely to communicate better. Executives need to state these common objectives frequently, so they become part of the organization’s culture.
A unified vision of company goals will turn damaging silo mentality into a culture where there is division of labor and not a division of information and eliminate the need to decide which side you are on, Left Twix or Right Twix.
