Marketing and Technology both play for the same team – the organization that employs them. Turf wars between the two departments sap efficiency and impede progress. Turf wars are bad. Turf wars should be avoided. Except in the rare cases when they need to be fought. When’s that?

ONE TEAM’S WRITING CHECKS THE OTHER CAN’T CASH

If a non-technical executive is buying a tool that will impact server capacity and performance, the technical side of the house must have some say in the purchase. Even if IT isn’t paying for it. It’s not reasonable to expect the tool to work properly if you’re crunching ten pounds of data into a five pound server. Or if IT unilaterally makes the decision that 24-hour latency is sufficient when Marketing research shows real-time processing is essential, IT has some ‘splaining to do, and Marketing may have to fight for a better outcome.

THE OTHER TEAM’S GLACIAL PACING IS RACKING UP BIG OPPORTUNITY COSTS

Watch it on this one.
1) Is the delay actually hurting the company — not just hurting your reputation with your boss or your bonus?
2) If it’s genuinely hurting the company, can you quantify the damage caused by waiting?
3) Is the damage substantial?
4) Have you exhausted all attempts to present this evidence to the other team to goose them into action?
The answers to all four questions must be “yes” to justify the disruption and unease caused by wresting a project from a too-slow colleague. But if all four are “yes”, tell your counterpart that you have to act. Then do it.

YOU KNOW SOMETHING THEY DON’T KNOW

For instance, UX is an area worth a turf war. Email is another. If someone without deep knowledge of best practice claims ownership of either area, deep damage can result. This can come from both sides. IT can claim they own design architecture and UX’s recommendations are just an opinion they can take or leave. Or Marketing can pound their chests about how they own the messaging and no one has the right to tread on their First Amendment rights as they carpet-bomb the populace with inbox impressions. Either of these situations demand an intervention to preserve the commonwealth, by the most knowledgable grown-up in the room. Who is that grown-up? The one who can back up his or her mouth with the best evidence.

Play nice with the other kids, now. No shoving. Or, no unnecessary shoving.