It is a cliché to reject information or work silos in most organisational contexts, but they are resilient structures (presumably because they serve some other useful purpose for someone in the organisation).

Earlier this week, I heard the following quote:

Insight is the gap and overlap between silos

It was attributed to someone by the name of Ed Smith, but I have been unable to find a source using Google or otherwise. Maybe someone knows.

It is a great quote though, and it really justifies what good knowledge sharing and personal development can do. It is also a test for businesses: any process that serves to protect people from distractions, keep them focused on the task in hand, or enforce existing management structures is likely to be stultifying in the long run. The harm may only be felt by the people who are controlled, but in the end the business will also suffer.

So that's part of my job: helping people generate new insights by showing them what is happening outside their silos.