Why Leaders Need to Beware of the Silo Effect with Sarah Siwak

The silo effect or silo mentality in organizations, when one group’s specialization walls then off from everyone else is often viewed as a consequence of growth.But todays guest, Sarah Siwak Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Airhouse, says that the silo effect shuts out more than it shuts in and hurts the bottom line.And in this insightful interview she share more about what those costs actually are.What You’ll Discover About the Silo Effect:* How the silo effect reduces productivity* Why the silo effect slows the scaling of your business* How cross-functional teams combat the silo effect* How to incentivize better communication to limit the silo effect* And MUCH more.Guest: Sarah SiwakSarah Siwak is proof that staying in one lane is rarely the best option.After obtaining her B.A. in Russian, she stepped into a marketing and web production role at an early-stage tech startup in Tokyo. Armed with a new-found love for both marketing and tech, Sarah went on to lead marketing initiatives for several large, innovative players in the industry like Zenefits, Heap, and Shyp. Now, as the Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Airhouse, she’s applying lessons learned from her less-than-traditional path to power logistics solutions for emerging direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands.The single-minded pursuit of narrow expertise has its perks. But so does intellectual omnivory. When it comes to navigating dynamic business landscapes, the broader your palate, the better your chances to survive and thrive.That kind of intellectual omnivory — a boundless appetite to learn, coupled with a capacity to see the hidden threads among disparate ideas — comes naturally to Sarah Siwak. As Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder of direct-to-consumer e-commerce logistics solution Airhouse, Sarah is living proof that staying in one lane is rarely the best option.After obtaining her B.A. in Russian, she stepped into a marketing and web production role at an early-stage tech startup in Tokyo. Armed with a new-found love for both marketing and tech, Sarah went on to lead marketing initiatives for several large, innovative players in the industry like Zenefits, Heap, and Shyp.Now at Airhouse, she’s putting a lifetime of intellectual omnivory to good use by helping direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands simplify the costly, unpredictable business of getting their products into the hands of buyersRelated Resources:If you liked this interview, you might also enjoy our other Leadership and Management episodes.Contact Sarah and connect with her on LinkedIn, and Twitter .And be sure to check out Airhouse. Join, Rate and Review:Rating and reviewing the show helps us grow our audience and allows us to bring you more of the rich information you need to succeed from our high powered guests. Leave a review at Lovethepodcast.com/BusinessConfidential.Joining the Business This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hannahaslkelchner.substack.com