The Seven Deadliest Bacteria-like Infections Inhabiting Organizations

A few years ago, infectious disease experts released a report listing the seven deadliest bacteria on earth. The list included the dreaded and familiar Ecoli, Salmonella, Tetanus, Staphylococcus, Syphilis, Streptococcus and Tuberculosis.

While visions of flesh eating organisms might simply bring a heightened sense of caution and hand washing to most people, for us as organizational development specialists it spawned the question, “What do we view as the seven deadliest bacteria-like infections inhabiting organizations with the potential to destroy or at the very least cripple a company?”

Here’s our list:

1.     Abuse of power

2.     Prejudice

3.     Change phobia

4.     Communication challenged leaders

5.     Us vs. Them-ism

6.     Absence of employee commendations and praise

7.     Inability/unwillingness to learn from past stumbling blocks

In the next seven weeks, we will be writing about each of these deadly infections. And we want to hear from you. If you’ve got a story that relates to the list, email us. We’re always looking for case studies. And we promise to change the names to protect the innocent.