(Silos is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.)

Silos

Unless you work on a farm, at a grain co-op, or in missile defense, you don’t have silos in your workplace.

Describing the various factions, teams, and departments in your office as silos was once a simple and convenient way to help organizations visualize how uncooperative various functions can be – and how to improve overall cooperation by “tearing down” the silos.

However, like similar helpful metaphors adapted in the workplace, the term silos has run its course… and now it’s just mind-numbingly annoying when your HR director speaks about “breaking down the silos to achieve a cohesive blah, blah, blah.”

Silos are, unfortunately, a favorite among the annoying human resources people at your work.

Oops, sorry about being redundant there; let’s restate that. Silos are, unfortunately, a favorite among the human resources people at your work. (There, no redundancies in that sentence.)

Replacement phrases: Departments; Factions; Functions; Teams

See also: Circular Firing Squad; Synergistically

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The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room is available on Amazon