Silos Oriented Architecture (SOA :-)) is a typical architecture pattern used by organizations as they build their structure. Separate people into groups of experts, they believe, create groups that are highly effective and efficient in that domain. You know those silos, HR, IT, Marketing, Sales, etc.
The problem is that once you create a group, you immediately create the “We vs Them” behavior (in some extreme cases even dehumanization of the others). That becomes much worse when you intentionally create barriers between those silos for the efficiency of the group.
It doesn’t matter if you believe that organizations run like well-understood machines or as living organisms, in both scenarios, total collaboration and dependencies between groups are vital to your organization’s success.
Silos were set to increase the knowledge and efficiency of workers in the second industrial revolution. This change makes a lot of sense where people where the machines that generate goods. This concept is problematic for today’s organization and it is going to be ridiculous for the future of work.
This pattern harms your business more than you think. Try to fight and remove those silos, and you will see how you’re resolving some key and long-term problems you are dealing with (communication and customer satisfaction will be the first).
Removal of silos or a more wholeness approach of your organization is one thing easy to say and hard to do. If you have already done it or you have an epiphany how to do it, please share it with us.