My friend Kenneth Leow writes a daily note, "The Pursuit of Career Actualization", which is posted in Facebook. In today's note, he mentioned how Microsoft's Bill Gates had once said "The PC took computing out of the back office & into everyone's office. The tablet takes cutting edge PC technology & makes it available wherever you want it, which is why I'm already using tablet as my everyday computer. It's a PC that is virtually without limits - & within five years I predict it will be the most popular form of PC sold in US". When did Bill Gates say this? 11 Nov 2001! So why did it not take off immediately? Apparently, the whole project died, another victim of that insidious malady we commonly call "Silo Thinking". My, my, we DO tend to beat around the bush when confronted with our ugly sides, don't we? Call the proverbial spade a spade - and, by the way, that is NO excuse for obscenity and vulgarity - "Silo Thinking" is really "Selfish Thinking", is it not? Is "Silo Thinking" the result of an inability to think strategically? Judge for yourself! Sure, we ought to be focused in our spheres of responsibility, but does that equate to "Silo Thinking", especially where senior leadership is concerned?

The Editorial in today's (23 Aug 2011) Business Times talks about how Qantas' ventures abroad ought to be a wake-up call for inefficient, protected Asian airlines. Another example of "Silo Thinking" on the part of Asian airlines, and "Transformational Thinking" by Qantas. Whether Qantas' venture really does take off will of course, be demonstrated with the passage of time, but I think we need have no doubt that it is clearly on the runway at this point. Whether Asian airlines will break out of their current thinking patterns also remains to be seen.

I think genuine strategic thinking will only be present in your organization if you are dedicated to bringing genuine value to ALL of your stakeholders. In other words, if wealth, prestige, power, pleasure and popularity rank highly amongst your organization's goals, chances are you are not thinking strategically in a genuine way. Genuine strategic thinking can only be fostered when there is a climate of significant purpose, empowerment and involvement both in yourself and your constituents. An example is provided by the founder of the world's first department store, John Wanamaker. John Wanamaker was the first to provide fixed pricing when others had variable pricing and haggling was commonplace. He was the first to encourage consumers to spend only within their means and not get into debt. He slashed prices by 20% when economic conditions were not good. Bad times did not mean layoffs, but further optimization of the store's internal processes. Philadelphians came to see his store as their very own, and they were proud of having Wanamaker's in their city. Expansion, of course, was inevitable and today, we take department stores for granted.

So, demolish your silos by taking a genuine interest in the value you bring to your stakeholders! Genuine strategic thinking will flourish in your organization as a direct result!