Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors (J-B Lencioni Series)

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Lencioni is quickly becoming a legend in modern business writing (publishers Jossey-Bass must rub their hands in glee every time he phones them and says he has a new title in the works,) but this is precisely because he is a smooth communicator who works outside the dry confines of academic writing. He does this by focusing on the story-telling - using fables and realistic stories to illustrate the all-to-common problems inside today's organizations.

Here he tackles a really big issue: the "silo mentality" that results in companies where 1+1+1=2 due to lost energy, time and commitment because the toughest competition comes from "the people over in engineering" or "the money people who don't understand we have to spend to get our product to market." Etc Etc.

In fact Ed Schein, who is worth checking out because he's the godfather of Organizational studies, concluded after some 45 years in the field, that organizations fundamentally break into three tribes: the engineers, the money people and the "people" people (marketing, HR etc.) He came to accept this as a reality, and advises us to work around it, live with it, instead of trying to get everyone to see everything the same way.

To his credit, Lencioni fundamentally shows the same acceptance. He doesn't lay down a single "thou shalt" template for universal values alignment within organizations - and he recognises the differences inherent within units of an organization. What he does is set up some simple rules for getting these divisions to at least pull in the same direction and focus on shared objectives.

Not all readers feel 100% comfortable with the Lencioni style. His advice always seems to come in 5s, his books each start with a fable: he sticks to a formula and he's in danger of becoming the John Grisham of management advice - too populaist and, in the end, too samey.

Fortunately he's smart enough to pack in excellent, usable advice. I'm a research consultant to organizations, and am putting this volume on my "books to give to clients" list.

This is ideal for managers at all levels, for change consultants and - as the opening fable tells it - for anyone who feels lost, thwarted or betrayed by their own organization, and can't quite identify the cause of their anxiety. If it isn't a specific issue, then its probably the structure of the place.

Recommended as a quick read, 200 pages, but with some big helpful diagnoses and problem-solving ideas. A great "pass along" book that can help bring about change.

The 2 stars is the average I give to all the fable books written by Patrick.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: 5 stars
Obviously, it is the best one. (you can see it from the sales record in Amazon). It was the first Patrick's book I read. I have finished reading the whole book in one setting and couldn't wait and jump to look for his other books. The book has a reasonable length, setting up a bit simplified, but not over-simplified, and still reasonable fable-like setting to illustrate all important team dysfunctions and team building skills. The whole book is tight and coherent and an easy but enlightening read. Highly recommended!


Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable 4 stars
It is a good one but not as great as the five team dysfunctions. A very good explanation of all kinds of meetings and how to use each of them. I recommend you buy one, read it and keep it as a reference. One drawback is the author tried to spicy up the book so one of the main characters will occassionally scream out some rude comments if he didn't take his pills. I never work with such an unusual person and I prefer less dramatic in a management fable. (not something like in "Desperate Housewife", the neighbor besides you was a serial killer and the housewife across the street did her gardener and used her Chinese maid to bear her baby.)

I should have stopped here and never rush to read his other books..


The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: 2 stars
This is the one made me begin to feel betrayed. If the five dysfunctions have been crafted for months, this one seems to be done within weeks. The fable setting needs more polishing works. Although the four obsessions have been presented with reasonable clariy, reading this book makes you feel that the author thinks you are an idiot. Scenarios like how the VP HR plots to damage the trust seem to be more suitable for a toddler fable rather than something for teenagers, not mentioning for managers. The rough plot affects the whole four points--though four very good points. I will recommend you to skim the whole book in less than 20 minutes by standing in a bookstore.


Five temptations of CEO 1 star?
It is the one makes me begin to feel angry. Again, if the five dysfunctions have been crafted for months, this one seems to be done within hours. The major story (95% of the book) happened in a dark train, where a poor CEO was taught about these five temptations by some ghost-like old men, who turned out later to be the previous CEOs in the SAME company! Again the five temptations are all great and worthwhile points. It is the plot that made me sick. If you have a chance, skim the whole book in less than FIVE minutes.

Silos, Politics and Turf Wars NEGATIVE 1 star
The worst one. Negative 1 star is because it wasted my time. I thought the five temptation one was the worst until I read this one. Patrick spends most of the book to illustrate the silo problems rather than provide any solution. And he even spends many pages about the main character's struggle in balancing his work and his wife's pregnancy, which I believe, should belong to another fable about personal life balance, given how many pages the author devoted to this. From other fables, more or less, you can at least learn something. But not from this one. Forget it!

"Pleeease write that book. The silos in this company are driving me crazy...," so writes one of Pat Lencioni's readers after they meet.

Pat Lencioni has spent his career focused on the "heart" of organizations and identifying behaviors blocking personal and organizational excellence. Lucky for us, he has found another niche, as a best selling author, sharing his observations and remedies in fable form. His first four books - "The Five Temptations of a CEO", "The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive", "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team", and "Death by Meeting" have now sold over one million copies and are being translated into foreign languages.

With "Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars," Lencioni has tackled a perplexing problem that has frustrated humanity since the beginning of recorded time. `Silos' is a metaphor drawn from the large grain silos that one sees throughout the US Midwest. It is a term of derision that suggests that each department on an organization chart is a silo and that its stands alone, not interacting with any of the other departmental silos.

Lencioni addresses a serious problem facing most organizational leaders. A recent study by the American Management Association found 97% of executives believed `silos' have negative effects on organizations, 31% believed they have extensive destructive consequences, and 83% believed they existed in their companies.

As with earlier books, "Silos" centers on a fictional story and ends with a separate insightful analysis providing tools to help readers minimize or possibly eliminate Silos, and the aftermath (politics and turf wars), in their organizations. This book will appeal to anyone who works for or leads any organization, as well as community and political leaders.

Lencioni's "Silos" centers on Jude Cousins and what follows after his life at Hatch Technology. Cousins leaves Hatch after a merger which leaves Batch, the newco, with two heads of everything, no direction, and discontent. Soon after setting up his own shop, Cousin Consulting, Theresa, his wife, announces she is pregnant increasing the pressure for income and benefits.

Faced with twins on the way and a tanking economy, Jude quickly learns he will be unable to provide for his family as a generalist and begins to rethink his future. With the help of existing customers -The Madison Hotel where he did market positioning, JMJ Fitness Machines where he advised on reducing costs, Children's Hospital where he helped a friend transition into the role of CEO, and Sacred Heart Church - Cousins finds his niche as he observes silos and its offspring, the resultant politics and turf wars.

He becomes determined to find a solution for the problem and sets about to convince his customers, all of whom complained about `silos,' to give him a chance to implement a solution. He gets a green light from Madison Hotel first and fails in his attempt.

While at John Muir Hospital for the delivery of the twins, Cousins observes how hospital personnel from different departments serve in the ER as a cohesive team. "It was a bizarre and beautiful mix of chaos, coordination, and communication"....and, why was this not true for the entire hospital? That's when it all clicked. There were no silos in the ER, yet everyone came from different departments. Why?

Cousins then heads off to JMJ and starts to put it all together. With success in reducing silos at JMJ, he moves on to all of his customers learning new twists from each. Eventually, his success brings him back to Batch.

"Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars" will provide the reader with Cousins' learnings, and Lencioni's underlying theory and remedy. Breaching cultural barriers within an organization is a big challenge. Ultimately, it is the path of openness. In an open environment, people work towards a single goal and share information seamlessly with one another. Instead of pursuing hidden agendas, they collaborate. Instead of indulging in turf squabbles and political infighting, they work towards overarching goals. One needs to ask fundamental questions about the organization's goals, metrics, and strategies. The organization needs to know what it wants to be when it grows up. And each member of the group needs to know how they fit into the scheme of things and how they're working in relation to other groups.

This is an important new addition to the Lencioni library and a must read for all organizational leaders and all who seek personal and organizational excellence. Rapidly increasing competitive pressures from new technology, non-traditional competitors, and rapidly changing markets demand open systems where information and action can flow quickly...and where `Silos' have been sent back to the farm.

I was really looking forward to this book as a fan of some of his earlier books, especially five dysfunctions of a team, which is one of the most elegant frameworks i've seen on team dynamics.

lencioni's solution to silos and politics? a shared goal with supporting objectives and metrics. it's a lot more complex than just that, and i'm surprised he didn't bring in some of his other work related to team dynamics and leadership, which must also be significant levers to help combat this problem.

if you're looking to solve your problem with silos and politics within your own organization, keep looking...

I'm sorry - generally I'm a fan of business stories, but this one really missed the mark. In attempting to bring a sense of realism to his characters, it seems he focused too much on story plot and character development and not enough on the mechanics of politics and providing real examples of how to deal with it from all levels. I want "take back to my desk" application. This book fell short.

I read a 200 page allegory to learn what was summarized in the last 25 pages. There is not much substance here and not much to indicate whether the method described in the book is proven.

If you enjoy reading about the evils of organizations that focus on optimizing results for the different functions (silos) rather than the whole enterprise, you'll cheer your way through this book. The indictment part of Silos, Politics and Turf Wars is a clear five-star effort.

If you like fables, you'll find this one engaging. Frustrated by turf wars in his newly merged company, Jude Cousins quits to found his one-man consulting operation. He feels comfortable with the financial cushion that stock in his old company provides, as well as his initial assignments. Then the assignments begin to falter and the stock dives. Jude needs a new approach. Learning that every organization has problems with silos, Jude learns that people overcome silos when they face a real crisis that threatens the enterprise's existence. From that observation, he develops a consulting practice that helps top management teams realize that it's a mistake to wait for the crisis before acting.

If the book left it at that, Silos, Politics and Turf Wars would be a helpful book.

But Mr. Lencioni insists on repeating the same formula in his top management meetings led by Jude. Point out that they would cooperate and be more successful if there were a crisis and someone will say, "Why wait for a crisis?" Then, everyone pulls together.

Well, that's a nice day dream. But even people who want to work together as a top management team need a lot of help to get there. This book is very misleading about what the solution is based on my 30 plus years of working with companies on this very problem. I graded the book down accordingly.

If you don't mind that the book doesn't really have a prescription for solving the problem that Mr. Lencioni so well describes, then you'll feel like this is a five star book.

The writing is particularly smooth and the situations are very interesting to read about. If this were a novel, I wouldn't hesitate to give it five stars.

This is the first review I write because I wasted time (not a lot though..) on this book. The author is very succesful in dumming down a prevelant and very important issue. The book is written as if the target group is five year olds. The "case studies" will make a first grader cringe. I am at a loss to understand why books like this get published.
The "great abs in 4 weeks" approach just doesn't work with a subject like this. I am afraid you got to take it more seriously and dig deeper.

My boss made her "team" read this, apprently because her boss made her & all of the people at that level read it. Hint: if you think this book is profound you are so utterly irredeemably stupid that you shouldn't be a manager.

I haven't seen any change in our workplace, except perhaps a downward spiral of more and more people saying "not-my-job" and "go through channels" which is completely contrary to the point of this insipid little fairy tale. Communication stinks. Cooperation is non-existent. Everyone is protecting their turf. Nobody trusts anybody. Everyone is too busy covering their arses and hiding their incompetence to give any thought to actually getting things done.

If your boss tells you to buy this book, buy it used and with the leftover money get a good resume writing book.

In the style that Lencioni uses in his other books, this follows the life of a consultant tasked with removing the problems facing organizations: in this case, territorial teams. The author is clearly experienced with this problem, as his depictions of both the situations and reactions to "obvious" business actions are true to my past as well. It's also a very engaging book with a worthwhile message: that distraction (in the form of crisis) is a good way to get the teams working together effectively.

I think that the only thing it's missing is that it could've gone a bit further. Crisis is one form of unifying distraction; ambitious goals and worthwhile causes are two others that I've seen work as well. The lesson about turf wars should be that they are the result of stagnation, not that you need to be in crisis mode all the time. Crisis mode leads to eventual burn-out, which is even worse than turf wars...

Borrow the book from the library. Wasting your money on fables is not wise (unless you like wasting money). While entertaining, this is not worthy of a library collection item.

Consistently great employees say they want two things: a place where what they do best can be used in meaningful and signficant ways, AND a great environment in which to do that work. In his previous books (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team; Death by Meeting) Lencioni addresses these two components of a great company, and I have seen his material work from large Fortune 500 companies down to small non-profit organizations. His stuff is just brilliant.
With his new book, Silos, Politics and Turf Wars, Lencioni refuses to view these things as necessary evils, but rather gives organizations hope that they can be overcome, and in the doing of that, enormous amounts of energy expended toward maintaining them, can be released toward the better efforts of the organization.
I would recommend this book to anyone serious about the job of leadership.

Patrick Lencioni has done an excellent job describing one of the most frustrating and mystifying problems of leadership; why even high performing teams can fall into the trap of allowing silos, politics and turf wars get in the way of their organization's success. Again using a light-hearted fable as a way to convey his message, Lencioni makes a convincing case as to the importance identifying a single `main thing' or in his words, a thematic goal, as the way to break down barriers and achieve true organization alignment. I found the book fun to read, thought provoking and immediately applicable to my work.

I was so excited to see the this book at the store - we all know about silos, politics, and turf wars. Having read all of Lencioni's leadership fables, I couldn't wait to read this one.

Such a disappointment! Lencioni spent more time writing about the conversations the lead character had with his wife about starting his consulting business than he did about how to tackle the Silos, Politics, and Turf wars. I couldn't find any solutions anywhere in this book.

Would have given this zero stars if that was an option.

This book builds on the ideas discussed in the "Dysfunctions" book by Lencioni as well. Though this one particularly discusses unique facets of many company cultures. Again a sub-6h read depending upon your processing speed. Start with the Dysfunctions book and move into this material thereafter.

It was ok, didn't have a whole lot of substance to it. It was an easy read. Some things were interesting but it was written for more of a novice. The whole book could be boiled down to about 40 pages. Again, it was ok but don't get your hopes up.

This book was well-written and lays out the problem very clearly. For those interested in finding a solution to the age-old problem of conflicts of interest caused by function-based departments, you may want to check out a book called "Pyramids are Tombs" that details how to design a professional service company to eliminate conflicts of interest and align people towards a common cause.

In recent years, a great deal of attention has been paid to what is generally referred to as a "business narrative" in which all manner of business concepts are presented within a story which consists of a sequential plot, a cast of characters, conflicts which generate interest and create tension, and then what is almost always a "happy ending." The best examples include Stephen Denning's Squirrel Inc., Eli Goldratt's The Agenda, and Marc Allen's Visionary Business.

After having read and then re-read it, I include Patrick Lencioni's Silos, Politics and Turf Wars among them. It is really quite entertaining as well as informative, indeed thought-provoking.

Here's the situation. Jude Cousins is a talented, energetic, and ambitious young marketing executive at Hatch Technology who, with his wife Teresa's support and encouragement, decides to leave his secure job after Hatch is purchased by Bell Financial Systems. He establishes an independent consulting practice and almost immediately obtains three clients: The Madison Hotel (San Francisco's oldest, largest, and most prestigious independent hotel), JMJ Fitness Machines (a manufacturer of high-end consumer and institutional exercise equipment), and Children's Hospital of Sacramento. Jude also agrees to help Father Ralph Colombano, pastor of Corpus Christi Church (in Walnut Hill, California) on a pro bono basis. Later, he adds his former employer as a consulting client but only after he has learned some important lessons.

One of the many challenges when writing a business narrative is to create fictional characters and relationships which are plausible. Although Lencioni calls his book a "leadership fable" (and it is), he anchors Jude in familiar, real-world situations during his journey of discovery so that the lessons he learns are relevant -- and applicable -- to most readers' own experiences. I also appreciate the fact that, while demonstrating with fictioinal characters how to destroy "the barriers that turn colleagues into competitors," he never allows those characters to sound like they are lecturing or preaching. Wisely, Lencioni includes only as much dialogue as is absolutely necessary. For example, involves Teresa Cousins only when it serves his narrative's purposesqe well-conceived novels have been ruined by clunky sub-plots? I can think of at least a dozen. The same is true of several films which have lurching back stories.) Silos, Politics and Turf Wars succeeds as a "realistic but fictional story" precisely because Lencioni achieves and then sustains an appropriate balance between what is fact (e.g. constant infighting among those in its workforce can tear an organization apart) and what is believable. After its "honeymoon," Cousins Consulting proceeds through a period which resembles a ride on a "roller coaster" until Jude experiences several "moments of truth."

Stated another way, if Jude were not a credible fictional character, nothing he does would be interesting and nothing he learns would be worth sharing. Moreover, what he learns is what Lencioni wants his reader to understand.

Lencioni has some quite serious objectives in mind. As he explains, "To tear down silos, leaders must go beyond behaviors and address the contextual issues at the heart of departmental separation and politics. The purpose of this book is to present a simple, powerful tool for addressing those issues and reducing the pain that silos cause. And that pain should not be underestimated." Indeed not.

One of Lencioni's cleverest devices is to have Jude complete a journey of discovery which reveals precisely what he (Lencioni) wishes to share with his reader. Hence the importance of the use of a third-person anonymous narrator which juxtaposes the reader (as observer) with Jude as well as with those with whom he interacts. Trust me, it works. Of much greater importance is what Lencioni has to say about how to reduce (if not totally eliminate) counter-productive "silos, politics and turf wars." He fully understands that some silos can be beneficial (usually on farms), probably agrees with President Harry Truman and others that politics are "the art of the possible," and recognizes that there are at least some "turf wars" that must be fought...and won. What he's concerned about in this book, obviously, are the contextual issues which can disrupt, weaken, and eventually destroy any organization. If its people are unwilling and/or unable to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate effectively between and among each other, they certainly cannot do so with anyone else in the organization's value chain.

Congratulations to Lencioni on a brilliant achievement.

In my opinion, the best advice on writing an effective business narrative is provided in Denning's The Leader's Guide to Storytelling, Annette Simmons' The Story Factor, and Doug Lipman's Improving Your Storytelling. Also worth consulting are Strunk and White's The Elements of Style and Brooks and Warren's Modern Rhetoric (although out-of-print, copies are available) which provides a brilliant explanation of effective exposition, description, narration, and argumentation.

I am not sure why the author thought he had something to offer on this subject. There was no original thought or useful lessons on the topic that was promised by the title. I read this book because it was the subject of an on-line book club for public health leaders but will be much more discriminating in the future regarding the purchase of books that are recommended by this group.

Lencioni delivers yet another "ah-ha" moment in Silos, Politics and Turf Wars. Just like his other best-sellers, SPT is a quick, entertaining read with a powerful message--"Why wait for a crisis?" I agree, why wait for a crisis? Start eliminating politics in your organization immediately with Lencioni's thematic goal concept.

Patrick Lencioni strikes an appealing tone in this fable about a genuinely good-hearted consultant who wants to help companies function better and show their people how to get along. His core message is that while many forces compel people to group into silos and fight each other, a leader can unify them around a common goal. It's a good message, even a sensible and enlightening one. While you are reading this book, resolving these situations seems quite possible - and in many cases, it well may be. We, therefore, recommend this book to companies that are plagued by internal warfare. However, for some of them, it will serve only as an inspiration and a starting point, because its simplified structure does not address certain key issues. Fundamentally, since many of the fable's examples emerge from unified meetings, what happens if your managers are so fractious you literally can't get the whole team in the same room? Even more daunting, what if your leaders meet but cannot agree on a thematic goal? Since some management teams disagree about day-to-day functions, they'll certainly have a tough time once individual silos are cemented in place. So, if you have sophisticated problems to solve, this book could be sort of hit or myth.

Elton John once opined (through Bernie Taupin--his lyricist)in a popular song, "Burn down the mission...if we're gonna stay alive." In some companies, the same advice (and consequence) applies to their organizational silos--burn 'em down!

Lencioni tackles an all-too-common organizational problem (silo mentality) in fine style. His signature fable approach worked well in keeping interest while concurrently teaching. It's a quick read and provides a thoughtful approach in breaking down organizational barriers and the embedded self-interests of those that lead the silos. Highly recommended for senior execs of all stripes and those involved in 'change' initiatives.

Bill Wiersma
Author: The Big AHA!

In many ways Silos, Politics and Turf Wars reminded me of books like "Gung Ho" and "Monday Morning Leadership" in that it is a story based management book. The reader follows the life and times of Jude Cousins, a once fast rising manager, now turned independent consultant, as he attempts to navigate his way through the gnarly infrastructures of silo-laden clients while earning a living and raising a family.

By itself, the story is both entertaining and informative as Author Patrick Lencioni weaves personal and business challenges and complications in and out of the story. This exposes the reader to a series of events that build to a successful conclusion (of course). It is a formula that works well because it is easier, and more realitic, to remember the context of a story than to remember text without a story, because you are thinking along, and learning with, and even morphing into Jude with every turn of the page.

This part of the well-written, easy-to-read book would have been worth the price to buy it and the time to read it.

However, the best part of the book for me were the final twenty pages which provided the reader with the thought process and the tools to tear down the silos, and eliminate the politics and turf wars, by identifying and implementing overarching organizational thematic goals. This is the "how to do it" part of the book, complete with excellent case study models to help you make it work in your own business.

When you can read a book that provides practical assistance that is immediately usuable, you have a winner, which "Silos, Politics and Turf Wars" surely is.

Agrarian societies have long used separate storage facilities (or silos) to isolate the different types of grain harvests in an effort to reduce spoilage, crop diseases and pests. Today, while this process still provides favorable results for farmers, functional "silos" within a business are usually crippling. In his book titled - Silos, Politics and Turf Wars - New York Times' bestselling author Patrick Lencioni writes that a "silo-mentality" contributes to the exodus of high-potential talent; profit loss and productivity slowdowns within organizations. At the core of this mess is a toxic internal struggle where supposedly cooperative work groups end up fighting each other for resources, recognition and results. Soundview endorses this book, because it's presented as a dynamic leadership fable that shows how organizations can sidestep the silo quagmire and reverse its ill effects. Few books successfully address and resolve thorny issues such as cross-functional infighting and turf wars in such an engaging, entertaining and constructive manner. This book delivers.

It is clear that Patrick Lencioni understands the anatomy of North American business practice and keeps coming up with good books on the subject.He knows what is going on inside the glass towers, behind closed doors and often right in front of the very managers who are struggling with the problems. In this book he clearly identifies the annoying and debilitating problems of silos, cliques and departmental dog fights that occur far too often in business everywhere. My book,"Always Remember, If it ain't fun it ain't worth doing!" would be a great follow up for managers. It will provide you with the tools to eliminate some of these challenges...Wayne Kehl

This book is well-written. It is easy to read and keeps your interest in general, although it is sometimes a little repetitious and slow. I guess the author repeats the point to make sure you get it.

Some of the author's ideas are new and thought-provoking, but you have to wade through some material which sounds like every other book on this topic, as well. In any case, if you are patient you will take away some neat new ideas that you will find yourself using and referring to.

I like the examples and anecdotes he/she uses to illustrate his/her points - they are really interesting and I have found myself using the examples and referring to them in everyday conversations with people, which is great. I only wish that there were some more examples because it is not always easy to see the point when no example is offered.

Lencioni is in fine form, and both his consulting insights and writing talent flow together well. His points are timely, and in any organization larger than 15 or 20 people, on the mark. His articulation of the thematic goal concept has application not only in the for profit world in which he spends most of his time, but in the non-profit sector where I reside. The conversation about the theory at the conclusion of the fable cinched the learning. Well done indeed.

I have been a fan of Lencioni's work for some time now. His newest offering just might be my favorite to date. I've encountered silos in organizations all my career and I have never seen an approach to the problem as clear, concise and powerful as the one I read about it "Silos".

The thematic goal process that is illustrated and explained in the book is amazing. Using a thematic goal to "rally the troops" is an wonderful process. One of the beauties of the book is that the approach is so well explained that any thoughtful manager or leader can implement it with their own teams. I have done so and my teams are energized with the process and are able to speak the language quickly.

It really creates a "context for collaboration" that I have never seen work so well.

The fable-style that Lencioni uses is a fun page-turning experience that I hated to see end so quickly. That's really the beauty of it.

Leaders willing to apply the disciplines discussed in the book will not be disappointed.

Once again, Pat Lencioni hits a major nerve in the business world by addressing a core issue that so many organizations struggle to overcome. Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars tells a compelling story of a young entrepreneur determined to persevere through the entanglements of life and work and in the process learns how to help others do the same.

While it may be a high order to replicate the success of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni continues to write great management books in an interesting way. His "leadership fables" (a unique genre in and of itself) may end up becoming more of the norm as didactic nonfiction becomes rote.

To summarize, I found Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars to be a good read (better than The Five Temptations of a CEO), but it didn't measure up to the Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Nonetheless, it is still well worth the read, especially if the team or organization you lead struggles with bureaucracy and divisiveness.

I'm in the process of reading all of Pat's books. For some reason, reading business topics in a fictional format resonates with me more. This book especially puts the importance of organizational health as a primary factor in establishing a cohesive team environment that surely results in a competitive advantage. As with all of the subjects that Pat has written about, the concept is pretty simple, it just takes the courage and discipline to implement them. Guess that's the difference maker when it comes to success in any endeavor.

It is a good story book and an easy read. If you are after dense useful information, you do not need to read the book. It might be better to get it from the library and reading the concept summary at the end of the book. The story is repetition of the concept through out the book in different organizational contexts.

I believe the problems Lencioni highlights in this book are as relavent now as they were then. It just so happens that I am a consultant trying to build a business and I have twins. Regardless, I thought this was a well done, easy to read, antidotal book that provides great value and insight for all readers.

Lencioni provides another one of his quick read page turners to convey his lessons learned in his management practice. This time the lens is turned to organizations struggling because of silo'd, even selfish routines that are established / normal procedures.

The main character of the book Jude is likeable and we see his tension in both personal and professional life. Jude is a good observer/learner so he more or less stumbles into the answer for solving silo'd organizations. In a nutshell, it is rallying to address a crisis. Through various examples, crisis knocks down silos either due to the need for survival or through crisis as a business (e.g. an emergency room). Jude expands on this nugget of wisdom through various experiences in his consulting gigs (no doubt an amalgam of what Lencioni's own practice has revealed). In the end, a lightweight framework emerges to help nearly any organization improve in the mid-term by aligning around a self-selected rallying cry (manufactured crisis) instead of waiting any longer for a real crisis to grab them by the throat.

We have started using the recommendations of this book where I work and I can already see a difference in alignment (and we certainly have our silos). Now, we all know what we are trying to do and why, on our senior leadership team and throughout the ranks. And the time frames are not too short or too long.

One assumption of the book that is very important is the buy-in of the top executive. In the story, Jude enjoys access, persuasion of, and even mentoring from the CEO/president of every one his clients. In everyday life this means the top guy or gal must believe in the aims of the method put forth here, and participate in monitoring the progress of their implementation, or the silos are bound to continue. They must use their executive authority either implicitly as a threat, or explicitly to replace difficult personalities. Leadership sets the tone and Lencioni's solution cannot work without at least buy-in from the top helping encourage buy-in from others. I doubt anyone's approach would work well without this key element, but it is very important to remember just the same.

The framework itself is incredibly simple and can compliment an existing balanced scorecard program very well. If you do not use balanced scorecard per se' - you do not have to. The framework provides an even simpler method to track progress and determine the proper sub-goals.

Well written, good advice, easy read and an enjoyable little story.

Too much detail about the consultant's personal life pressures with his wife having TWINS, EARLY, and all that junk. Who cares about that detail. The point of the book only comes in the LAST third of the text. The fable / fiction concept seems to be taking over the content.

This was by far the best Lencioni book that I have read. Twice I took the training course of "5 Dysfuncions of a Team" with all the reading and interaction with my fellow team members, but the lessons learned in Silos was more revealing as to how an organization should become unified and focused. Each department of an institution should complement the vision and direction, which will bring strength and benefits to all. The book was helpful to seeing those needs and correcting them.

I have enjoyed all of Mr. Lencioni's books as they are wonderfully entertaining and enjoyable air plane reads. However, this is the one I've shared most in that it exists in most every company and it allows the reader to see it in a non-threatening way. Read it and share it across the organization and up the leadership chain. If you haven't read any of Mr. Lencioni's business fables, start now and let the fun begin .

What a great book on what actually happens in the corporate world. As a corporte director for a fortune 500 company, I find these "silos" at every turn. And once I recognize it, my interface with these departments take a different tactic from the normal interactions with "normal" groups. Indeed, this book solidified my viewpoint on staking out claims to certain areas and have help me to get beyond the hurdles they represent.

I applaud the author for his insight and deep understanding of this annoying yet critical topic. I also appreciated that a large part of the book was in "story style", that is a good story creates images and for us Adult Learners, we need that extra help. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR - Author of Wingtips with Spurs

This book provides solid practices and actions to identify and remove silos in organizations. It's filled with do-able actions in a context that gives examples and great team discussions.

In "Silos, Politics and Turf Wars," Patrick Lencioni uses his lesson-as-fable template to address the common, and challenging, issue of organizational silos. Written in an engaging and no-nonsense style, this book highlights the challenges posed by organizational silos...and the politics and turf wars that are often associated with such silos.

Beyond the easy-to-read style of this book, I appreciate Lencioni's section on "The Model," in which the salient managerial points put forth in the book are called out in a specific and tangible manner.

Mr. Lencioni has captured the essense of corporate politics and create a compelling tale to explain strategies to reduce its impact on an organization. This book is definitely worth the few hours it takes to read.

This book was fantastic. Out of all the companies I've worked for, I can't think of one that doesn't deal with Silos as one of their major problems. The book does a great job analyzing the problem across just about any business. With this and his other books, we feel we're well on our way to resolving some very real issues with our company.

I have experienced the silos problem in many places and the explanations about the problem and the causes are spot on. The model that this book explains very well how to over eliminate the causes and overcome the problem. Managers should read this book.

Not your average Business book... Put in a story form so the reader is not bored with dry material... You need to look close to get the learning facts... A very good book would recomment to anyone with deparment disagrements...

A short, well written, story about a most common business problem - lack of or differing definitions of performance by the senior leadership team. Using a common complaint heard within most businesses - the performance damage done by "silos" between departments, divisions, units, or whatever you call any internal enterprise - Author and consultant Patrick Lencioni again uses the popular business narrative format to show how the lack of a common definition of performance within the leadership team (even when they like each other and want to be a strong leadership team) will cause the organization to be pulled apart and under perform. He then goes on to solve the problem by getting the team to agree a singular, near-term problem they need to solve (thematic goal) and are willing to unit behind.

Although one can question if this condition can be solved in a two-hour meeting, as the hero of the story does; Lencioni's solution components - the thematic goal, a set of defining objectives, a set of ongoing standard operating objectives, and subsequent metrics - is a concept with practical merit. As with most business narratives, the single theme skips over the many other real-life business issues, making the solution seem more powerful and easier to implement than business reality often allows. The story does, however, identify a very real problem of leadership team members each defining performance from their individual perspectives and provides the beginning of the solution. The book is recommended for leadership teams.

Lencioni has written a very good fable that depicts the typical "silos" or turf wars that take place in any organization. Using several different case scenarios, Lencioni does a great job in describing the subtleties of turf wars and places the blame square at the top of the organization. (The ground troops are simply doing their jobs as described for them by their bosses.)

The answer to the turf war, according to Lencioni, is a thematic goal. This is not to be confuse with a vision statement or a BHAG (big fat hairy goal), as Porras and Collins describe. But it is more than strategic goals and objectives. I must admit, this was a new concept for me and I'm not quite sure of the concept even after reading Lencioni's concept.

Lencioni clearly states that a thematic goal does not exclude the need to develop a good, functioning executive team (cf. Dysfunctions of Teams). Indeed, good executive teams are a priority for Lencioni. But contends that even well functioning teams with good personal relationships will sometimes have organizational/structural weaknesses that allow "silos" or turf wars to develop.

Overall, Lencioni has written a very readable book that clearly describes the problem of politics among divisions in an organization. But the concept of a "thematic goal" (as opposed to organizational vision) is still a bit vague to me -- but it is clearly not to be dismissed.

This book was reader friendly, very easy to navigate, and it was interesting and informative.I have used it as an educational tool.

Told as a "story", this book has tremendous lessons for any company dealing with Silos in their organization

Well written and an easy read. If you don't see yourself in one part of the book or another, you're just skimming the pages.

You will also find the AHA! moment within the confines of this book.

This book provides a very clear step by step manner to move a business, a cause, an issue, or anything else that requires a formal business process.

Patrick Lencioni again uses a great story to confront what every organization has to deal with - Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars! This book provides some strategies on how to approach and attack this problem. You will get the most out of this book by looking at the progression that is established through the Five Dysfunctions of a Team and the Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. Well Done!