Internal Silos

I have just finished reading a book titled Silos, Politics and Turf Wars written by Patrick Lencioni. ( I bought my copy on Amazon ) This book should be compulsory reading for all business that have various degrees of management layers.

Over the years I have experienced first hand how destructive executives can be when they engage in what I call Turf Wars. The only real loser in this activity is the company itself. Also the theory in this book applies to any type of organisation, large or small.

I am currently engaged in a project that requires all 150 employees to accept recent structural change and we are experiencing some disturbing conflict brought about because two or three key managers will not accpet the change and are hell bent on protecting their turf. As in any change management situation I have been involved with, there are always some who cause conflict trying to get things back to where they were before.

In family businesses it can be even more destructive as it usually involves family members and the fall out can cause family to split apart.

It takes careful leadership by the family business CEO to manage any change process and to be aware of the individual emotions within family groups.

For more information on this book go to www.tablegroup.com

Bill Winter