Marketing Profs

Ever toured on a cruise ship? The kind of tour with calm, crystal waters and blue sky as far as the eye can see… peppy Julie McCoy look-alikes minding the Lido deck… sultry bikini-clad bathing beauties…the sticky, sweet scent of suntan oil wavering through the air… warm licks of yellow sun splashing across your face… while you languidly pass your time until you arrive at the next island port? By the way, I'm breaking into your Corporate Internet security system as you read this.

Bet I just got you to island-hop.

Small businesses have perfected the art of island-hopping: packing light, living low and swiftly changing direction based on needs, news and impending threats.

Big businesses can get mired in hierarchy and politics long before they can muster switching gears. In today's unpredictable world, big businesses can no longer afford to shelter the steadfast and specialists. Big businesses and their employees must learn to island-hop to remain competitive.

Here are six small business island-hopping skills to serve as inspiration for big business leaders.

1. On a small remote island—you're CEO, COO, CMO, and janitor

Long ago and far away, big business attempted to de-institutionalize island-hopping to preserve efficiency and contain costs. Big business hired specialists adept in one area and organizationally separated them into specific departments, brand teams, finance and operations. Although these teams often met together to present strategies and craft plans, there was never full integration or appreciation of one another's work.

True, many big businesses require cross-functional stints. P&G and Coke require finance teams to assume a brand role prior to promotion and brand teams to experience a field sales assignment, respectively. But short stints cannot flatten silos. Functional silos inhibit big business.

In a small business, management infrastructure washes out with high tide. A small business owner must lead operations, marketing, finance, investor relations, customer relations… as well as floor mopping. This makes small businesses nimble. More importantly, it ensures that small business teams collaborate, identify and eliminate bottlenecks and respond to surprises. The result: reduced transaction costs.

Although it would require an ongoing, disciplined commitment by executive leadership teams, big business could eliminate cross-functional silos with a redefined organizational architecture. A good first step would be to align staff roles to what customers need and to link cross-functional systems and processes. Let employees figure out what they're good at and shape what their roles should be.