And the force may be too great to overcome…studies show that all businesses are exposed to an often-times catastrophic risk. And the worst part? There may be little we can do about it.

What’s the risk I’m talking about? Silos within the organization!

Building virtual walls and working separately in spite of common goals and a singular vision for the organization; we gravitate toward our own interests and suddenly, we’re out of alignment.

And boy is the solution tough; teams unknowingly (and sometimes willingly) put up barriers based on perceived ‘responsibility lines’ and ‘interests.’ Sometimes it even happens within a team.

Steps to keeping the silo walls low (because there will be active builders, always):
(A) Create and agree to the common goals together and understand each team’s part. Assuming you have that…
(B) Establish work-groups or project teams that have the ability and willingness to work within a framework.
(C) Regular evaluation of each team’s activities by other teams for perspective and ideas.
(D) Turn the culture to seek out the advice of other teams….to sanity check the activities against our common vision.

And don’t always leave it to managers. They may be the builders of the sturdiest silos!!