Businesses need more silo-breaking generalists
How cross-functional thinkers prevent valuable opportunities from falling through departmental cracks
I recently came across a situation that perfectly sums up why generalists are so important in the business world. A company I know had hired a PR agency that secured an amazing win: a popular podcast host spent a full 10 minutes raving about their product.
This was gold! Free, authentic endorsement from a trusted voice reaching ten of thousands of potential customers.
But here's the thing, this publicity gem was never used in any of the company's marketing efforts. No social media clips. No website testimonial. No email campaign highlighting the endorsement. Nothing.
Why did this happen? Simple: departmental silos.
The PR team considered their job done once they secured the mention. The social media team wasn't looped in to create content from it. The email marketing team didn't know it existed. The content team wasn't briefed to write about it. The web team wasn't asked to feature it.
Enter the Generalist
This is exactly where a generalist shines. As someone who understands how PR, social media, content marketing, and sales all interconnect, a generalist would immediately spot this missed opportunity and ensure it was maximized across all channels.
We generalists:
See the full picture beyond departmental boundaries
Connect dots that specialists might miss
Understand how different business functions can amplify each other
Recognize valuable assets and ensure they're leveraged properly
In this case, a generalist would have:
Recognized the podcast mention as a valuable asset
Worked with social media to create shareable clips
Collaborated with the content team to incorporate the endorsement into blog posts
Ensured the sales team had access to this social proof for prospects
Added the testimonial to relevant website pages
In short, this asset could have 10x its reach and led to even more conversions, without any additional budget.
Breaking Down Silos
Current business environments are too complex and interconnected for rigid departmental divisions. When teams operate in isolation, opportunities fall through the cracks, value gets left on the table, and the business ultimately suffers.
Generalists are the glue that holds these pieces together. We're the ones who speak the language of multiple departments and ensure nothing valuable gets overlooked.
So if your organization has specialists running individual departments (which is great!), make sure you also have generalists who can connect them. We're the ones who ensure that brilliant PR win actually drives business results instead of disappearing into the void.
Have you noticed opportunities falling through the cracks because of departmental silos? Share your experiences in the comments!