Management speak is so 2012
- By Greg Rose -
- Dec 24, 2012
Have you got a hard stop? Are you solving a problem with a spot of blue sky thinking? Are you stretching the envelope?
The new year is almost here, so it’s time to say goodbye to all of those excruciating business talk phrases that we’re all guilty of spouting from time to time.
Richard Branson is not a fan of business gobbledegook, as he explained recently in a blog about brainstorming. He said: “Many management consultants suggest scheduling regular brainstorming sessions so that you and your team can "think outside the box" or do some "blue-sky thinking."
“I hate those terms – being creative shouldn't be confined to specific times in your day.”
The Atlantic also shared their sentiments about the words that really get on everyone’s nerves in 2012, with a list of the year’s worst words. ‘Brogrammer’, ‘glocal’ and ‘fiscal cliff’ all made the list. Have a read, and cringe at how many you use. And remember, YOLO.
However, the wonderful people at Innocent Drinks reminded us of the Guardian’s hilarious meeting suggestions article from 1999. Some of the business speak works just as well today. For example: “Drop meaningless and confusing management speak into conversations such as:
"What's the margin, Marvin?"
"When's this turkey going to get basted?"
"If we don't get this brook babbling we're all going to end up looking like doe-eyed Labradors.”
What biz-talk annoyed you the most in 2012? What do you think we’ll be adding to the list by the end of next year?
Image by jepoirrier on Flickr
By Greg Rose. Content Manager. Tweets @greglrose and blogs at greglrose.com
