Mert Sahinoglu

In the above video, Austin Adams, Former CIO of JPMorgan Chase, talks about dysfunctional silos in corporations. The siloing is definitely killing the effectiveness of the online marketing initiatives of many corporations. In a traditional company, there are four main marketing related silos. Advertising, brand management, information technology, and corporate public relations. These individual silos in return to agencies who are even more specialized. Public relations (PR) agency, Web Design agency, Backend programming agency, Traditional Advertising agency, Online Advertising Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Agency, Pay Per Click (PPC) agency. These agencies in return are expected to achieve results with minimal support from the corporation (with the exception of the C-level silo leader’s group that hired the agency). Of course, since credit is due strictly by pre-assigned goals of the agencies, coordination between various agencies is even a further impossibility.

In an ever complex world, the success of any task assigned to any one of the above silos/agencies rely on the others’. How do companies expect to have a voice in the light speed world of the internet? Even more importantly, how do agencies survive with such limited scope and control in such a complex world that has hundreds of different variables that dictate their success? Imagine a house where there are multiple bricklayers who are trying to start bricking different parts of the house without a house plan. Consider SEO, PPC, PR and all the other tools as bricks with different colors and shapes. The agencies/corporate silos are the different bricklayers trying to brick the same house without coordinating with each other. The end result will probably be the ugliest house in the world.

The concept of the traditional business school of organization chart has to be reexamined where bonuses are based on team work coordination rather than individual performance. Without such coordination, the business landscape will be full of ugly homes.