One Final Note

Developing a linkage separation requires a dramatic shift in the organizational thinking and decision-making processes. It calls for a reduced commitment to unverified existing models and paradigms, and their associated metrics. It promotes an emphasis on comparing alternate investment decisions on common downstream metrics. It requires building strategic flowprints that are adaptable to changing internal and external circumstances. And it needs psychological tenacity to be able to ask tough questions and demonstrate a willingness to exit strategy prisons created by well-entrenched mental models. However, it comes with numerous benefits. Linkage-oriented organizations are likely to be nimble and agile and demonstrate an increasing appetite for data-driven and fact-based decisions. They are more likely to take actions with positive decision equity, break functional silos or at least coordinate better across them, and provide their managers with better tools to address current and future marketing challenges.