This so relevant to all centralized departments.

Most important learning is “Try to see the world through their eyes and see what kind of information you receive with that perspective,” As we so much used to group with like minded people and not ready to tolerate different view points...Interestingly very true and when you socialize with different people more you will lean about the would and expand your thinking...

Clearly a  core skill of cost / management accountants to  bring different parts of a business together for the greater good of the organisation. The more each team / division of an organisation understands different parts of the business  the more they can add to the organisation.


Whatever the terminology communication is vital and as technology changes new way of 'linking' up needs to be employed. Whether  this is  twitter, intranets, departmental e-mail lists etc.


It is also important, especially in manufacturing industries that  daily / regular interdepartmental meetings are held  where ideas, issues and problems can be discussed. It not only leads to a general greater understanding but also innovative solutions  that may not have been thought of  by individual departments / teams.


I am familiar  with these concepts from a number of my recent contract employments within manufacturing  industries  whether it be within food manufacture ( New York Bakery ), circuit boards ( Asteelflash )  or engineering ( Cerulean ).

It was well caught that that we live in times which worships efficiency and so there is often not enough time space to slow down and have a look at our business from different perspective to find new opportunities for business growth.

Great article, i'm a strong believer in cross pollination of ideas and skills. In my organisation there is a lot of working together with other heads and this needs to be fostered at all levels in the organisation. It helps to share the experiences and then think collectively, we have often come up with good workable and unique ideas. It is critical for product development, internal processes and many other things.