Alignment is the magic ingredient
When each piece fits perfectly to become a single force
Alignment is simply a tool to remove friction between 2 parts of a system. It could be between people (boss & employee), people to system (no one uses the ERP system!) or even between pieces of software (no automatic integration between different tools you use for work).
It’s like a water pipeline. Even a single mismatch between any joins will result in water wastage. Just like that, the system flows smoothly only when each piece is in alignment.
With software systems, it’s relatively easy to get them to “talk to each other” nicely. Most software also have APIs that allow you to send or receive data.
Recommended read to understand how to implement this with people:
Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual by Jocko Willink
This book breaks down exactly how alignment works. Check out Section 3.A, p.g. 130 - The most important member of the team.