by contrast, think of the way a high-reliability team say , an emergency room staff or a SWAT team - works. Every member has a precise understanding of what things mean. Surgeons and nurses speak the same medical language. SWAT teams know exactly what weapons to use, and when and how and under what conditions to use them. In these professions, there is absolutely no room for sloppy communication. If team members don't speak to each other with precision, people die, People don't die in corporations , but without clear definitions and directions from the top, they work in effectively and and at cross-purposes.