When promoting synergy internally within any organization it is important to remain neutral to all your constituents.  Thus “the Switzerland theory.”

In my case, working synergy for The Walt Disney Company, I had a key marketing person designated as the primary synergy contact in every one of Disney’s 60 business segments during my tenure.  Of course, most businesses that drove the synergy train were the big ones – motion pictures, theme parks, and consumer products.  But what about those that were smaller?  Did it mean I didn’t deal with them as much or paid less attention to their priorities?  No, not at all.  To maintain a good relationship with all divisions when evaluating their synergistic input on any given project, each was treated with the same respect and given the same opportunities for exposure within the overall company.

So while the priorities for each division carried different weight, enabling all to have their say in the big company picture, is how synergy must be approached to achieve any level of successful internal cross-promotion.