An award-winning columnist and journalist describes how businesses that structure their teams into functional departments, or "silos," actually hinder work, cripple innovation, restrict thinking and force normally smart people to ignore risks and opportunities. --Publisher's description.

Introduction: Bloomberg's skunkworks -- Part one: Silos. The nondancers: how anthropology can illuminate silos ; Octopus pots: how silos crush innovation ; When gnomes go blind: how silos conceal risks ; Russian dolls: how silos create tunnel vision -- Part two: Silo busters. Gun-toting geeks: how individuals can silo-bust their lives ; (Re)writing social code: how to keep silos fluid ; Flipping the lens: how doctors tried not to behave like economists ; Bucket-busting: how breaking down silos can produce profits -- Conclusion: Connecting the dots.