Breaking Down Silos – Part 2
Breaking Down Silos – Part 2
Josh Erickson
How Manufacturers Improve Podcast Ep. #170
Most manufacturing leaders know silos are a problem. Few know exactly where they start. The real culprits are often hiding in plain sight: individual performance metrics that punish cooperation, shared terminology that means something different to every department, and core values that live on the wall but die in the hallway. In this episode of the How Manufacturers Improve podcast, host Kirby Sneen sits down with Josh Erickson, General Manager at NCCO, to unpack what actually creates and sustains silos across shifts, functions, and teams. With more than 30 years across large public companies, private equity, and family-owned manufacturers, Erickson brings hard-won lessons on group measurement, habit change, and why “respect for the individual” is the only core value he’s ever seen consistently de-escalate conflict in real time. Listeners will walk away with a clear framework for identifying silo behavior, a smarter approach to metrics that balances team and individual accountability, a practical method for aligning language across departments, and strategies for building cross-functional problem-solving into the daily culture.
