Archive for May, 2007
Caution: If business-speak makes you squeamish grab a sick-bag before reading any further.
The results of the Business Gibberish survey are in.
AND THE WINNER IS: “Our people are our greatest asset” with 48% of the barfo vote.
Runner Up: “Think outside the box” with 36% of the vote.
3rd Place: “At the end of the day” - 14%
Some great suggestions were made for other gag-reflex phrases including:
- Service is our specialty.
- Your call is important to us.
- These job cuts are necessary as we right-size the company.
- Let’s touch base about that later.
- Meet performance goals…
- Let’s run it up the flagpole and see which way the wind blows.
- Anything revolving around being a “team player”, especially when management does nothing to foster a team environment.
So what’s the point you ask? Well here it is.
If you need to work in a group, the quickest way to get “barfed on” is to use one of these phrases. You and your ideas will start to make people cringe, even if you’re a nice person with good ideas.
These cliches are a form of business shinfo. They clutter conversation and decision-making through their meaninglessness, ambiguity and de-humanization.
If someone uses one, challenge the meaning of the phrase. What specifically does that person REALLY mean to say that they are obscuring through one of these trite forms. Several of these are “conversation stoppers”. Don’t let it happen. Be tactful but press on to the true message.
Comments?
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May 29th, 2007
Click here to Vote for the Business Phrase that most makes you want to barf! And suggest new ones too!
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May 27th, 2007
Are you needing some mind expansion to help on a project or maybe a release from the humdrum day? Check out Canadian Brian Jungen’s art. Jungen transforms everyday objects of utility into some wild forms. I was fortunate to view it first hand at Montreal’s Museum of Contemporary Art last year. Giant dinosaur skeletons made from plastic chairs and strange aboriginal masks made from cut-up athletic shoes. Wild, mind-bending, perspective changing art.
If you get a chance to view any of his work in person, take it! Getting a different perspective on the world through art, music or literature can, I believe, lead to good things all around.
What are your thoughts on creativity in the business world you inhabit?
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May 27th, 2007
Good decision-making in a business requires clarity of language and understanding. Too bad many people seem to switch from good, friendly conversational language to some sort of vague, moldy melange of clotted double-speak that make you want to, well upchuck, when they get to the office.
We’ve all either heard it and mentally swallowed hard to keep from verbally barfing back at the speaker (who usually is a higher-up) or even succumbed to the sickness ourselves and hurled meaningless yet stinky cliches at the poor souls listening to us.
Bad decisions get made when people don’t speak clearly, candidly and with courage as needed.
More on how to that in a subsequent post.
First: Take a quick survey of YOUR MOST HATED BUSINESS-SPEAK PHRASES, and maybe submit a new one for added consideration. Try not to gag or barf during the survey.
Results to be posted Tuesday night EDT.
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May 26th, 2007
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