TAMING FIEFDOMS Collaboration, content and

complex stakeholders

Individual fiefdom •  Often feared •  Becomes roadblock •  Complex motives •  Driven by control

Group fiefdom •  Protective of turf •  Puts up walls •  Hoards data •  Driven by power

[Digital transformation]

…for much of your organisation—particularly senior management— requires the acceptance of a significant loss of control and power. Gerry McGovern

THE MARKETING FIEFDOM

Image carousels reveal internal arguments, not information. Wise words from Max Johns

THE MARKETING FIEFDOM

Signs: Battles over home page, last minute requests, secrecy over projects, content production and approval bottlenecks. Impact: A content team that’s reactive rather than proactive, uncertainty.

Caused by: Lack of a clearly communicated vision (won't give up control because they can't articulate what should be there). Collaborate by: Facilitating a vision workshop & communicating results.

THE TECHNOLOGY FIEFDOM

The governasties.

Rahel Anne Bailie

•  Marketing and technology fiefdoms often battle over technology.

•  Traditional IT departments are seen as slow moving and difficult, stifling competiveness and innovation.

•  Conflict between waterfall program offices and Agile delivery teams.

Robert Rose’s framework

HIGH need for flexibility

• Content / experience management (Presentation – driven by interface, channel, audience)

MED need for flexibility

• Engagement management (Optimisation – driven by contextualisation, personalisation, testing)

LOW need for flexibility

• Core data management (Content & knowledge repository – driven by standards, scalability, availability)

LOW need for

dependability

MED need for

dependability

HIGH need for

dependability

HIGH need for flexibility

MED need for flexibility

LOW need for flexibility

LowimpacttolegacysystemsRapiddeliveryClosetocustomerLowintegra7onProcess-basedgovernanceLowinvestmentHighflexibilityLowimpacttopeople&processes

Alignment exercise Highimpacttolegacysystems

Tradi7onaldelivery

Awayfromcustomer

Highintegra7on

Approval-based

governance

Highinvestment

Lowflexibility

Highimpacttopeople&processes

THE TECHNOLOGYFIEFDOM

Signs: Conflict between teams that want to be nimble and innovative using apps or technology and a traditional IT department that is slow moving and restricted. Impact: Slow speed to market, increased cost of implementing content projects, overkill on technology.

Caused by: Risk aversive IT departments, trying to use one piece of technology as the solution for everything, one-size-fits-all approach to technology in general, Agile delivery vs waterfall programs. Collaborate by: Building trust with alignment exercise. Understand how the enterprise works together and be aware of the systems you play with.

THE BUSINESS FIEFDOM

•  Land grab of people and resources.

•  Many content projects become digital transformation in disguise.

•  Business fiefdoms wary of change.

•  Understand money - Don’t be afraid to talk money and budgets.

•  Show, don’t tell and make the intangible, tangible.

•  Bridge the gaps between Agile projects and business as usual (BAU).

•  Upskill team members and build in-house capabilities.

THE BUSINESS FIEFDOM

Signs: Resistance to change, content returned to a waterfall team after Agile project delivery. Impact: Ineffective strategy implementation, under resourcing, poor governance and workflow.

Caused by: Fear, uncertainty, lack of skilled resources, digital transformation in disguise. Collaborate by: Building trust and empowerment through a strong communication strategy, content toolkit, and developing in-house capabilities.

THANK YOU

Sally Bagshaw sally@snappysentences.com @snappysentences