Over at the Creo Quality Blog, Jon Speer writes about the frustration of companies that are divided into silos. “Stop building walls”, Speer advises, and instead “figure out how to tear them down.”

The article is titled Pass The Bricks. I Need To Make Our Wall Stronger. Here’s a great quote from the intro:

Have you ever worked in a company where every functional group had their own “kingdom”? I have. It was frustrating. I’ve also had the pleasure of consulting for companies where the objective seems to be “How can we screw the other groups?” and communication seems to be discouraged.

Most of us can appreciate the notion that large organizations are divided into smaller groups. These factions often tend to be more political than practical. Sometimes it seems like different managers are vying for control of funds, resources or attention. Sometimes it seems like their goal is to make life more difficult for internal adversaries.

The advice for this situation is so frequently repeated that it has almost lost all meaning: Communication is crucial. The reason we tend to build kingdoms and walls instead of building teams and productive patterns is that we do not effectively discuss what we want and need.

If your organization needs help with communication, consider our complementary short talk Making Communication Productive. This service only takes fifteen minutes, is presented on-site during your staff meeting and has no obligations. Let us know that you’re interested in communicating more effectively. Reach out to Slaughter Development today!

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