Imagine this studio session.
Over there is John Lennon, one of the most distinctive voices of our time and a blistering guitarist. Over on the other side of the studio is George Harrison, the so-called “quiet” Beatle, whose songwriting and musical phrasing has few equals. On the drums is Ringo, the heart beat of the band, ever steady and lyrical. Then there’s Paul McCartney, a musical savant on par with Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, on piano. All players are ready to play.
Ringo counts it off: “One Two Three FOUR!” and they are rocking.
But it sounds terrible. Why?
Paul croons the chorus to Eleanor Rigby, John jams out to Helter Skelter, George noodles with an Indian groove and Ringo bangs out the back-beat to Sgt Pepper. They are in their own little worlds. They are all doing their own thing.
If you could focus your ears on each individual player (and filter out the others), he’d sound AMAZING.
But as a whole it’s just a bunch of noise.
Instead, give the boys from Liverpool a particular song to play…one that they all know…one they have played before…such as “I Saw Her Standing There” and, this time, when Ringo counts it off–“One Two Three FOUR!”–the band creates MUSIC.
A lot of organizations function this way. Individually, each department and its individual contributors can accomplish amazing things. Close deals. Generate leads. Write a good email. Create an effective media buy. Evaluate deals. Manage a divisional P&L.
But if everyone is in his or her own little world (aka “silo”) it all amounts to a bunch of noise.
Extend the analogy to business and you will see that the “song” is a plan or a forecast (this is what we will play).
Your firm makes consequential decisions every year based on its plans and forecasts: What markets to enter, what people to hire and many others. Getting it right involves analytical inputs from dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of people.
Yet, most companies don’t do this very well.
Here’s an astounding fact. Every quarter, nearly 25% of public companies miss Wall Street earnings expectations, or have to reduce their earnings guidance, and the consequences are huge.
Join us on March 23, 2016 at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT when Trefis presents “3 Keys to Better Forecasts.” Larry Gorkin, our Managing Director for Corporate Solutions will discuss how to help leaders develop better, more accurate business plans and forecasts. You’ll learn:
- Why companies miss their forecast
- What you can do about it
- Next steps you can take
Click here to register for the webinar. When you work off the same song sheet, your firm can make MUSIC.
