"Corporate Lingo"

After about 2 months of working in "Corporate America" I learned of this secret language. A language that I would eventually grow to mock. My good friend Olivia and I, have had countless conversations regarding the meanings of these phrases and the need to use them. Do these terms really get our points across in a more effective way? Are we trying to create an elite club where you can distinguish its members through these sayings? Can one be considered unprofessional, or lacking in intelligence, innovation and business savvy if these terms and phrases are not present in their vocabulary?



Top 10 Overly Communicated Corporate Terms, Phrases and Lingo

1. "Think outside the box" - Thinking creatively and not of the norm (lingo within lingo). Would it not be accepted to say, "try thinking of something that hasn't been thought of before" or "be a little more creative". What is the box, the box of business measurements the box of normalcy? Wouldn't it be great for everyone to think within their own box, their minds, and then exchange boxes, and then collaborate the boxes to create this great big box of creativity.

2. "Touch Base" - To follow up. Such an easy term to define, yet used way too much. No really, way too much!

3. "....Oriented" - According to Webster.com, oriented means intellectually, emotionally, or functionally directed. My gripe is that just adding "oriented" before or after something does not make it a power saying hence hearing this word in numerous variations many times a day. i.e. deadline-oriented.

4. "Drill down" - Digging/researching deeper into a problem or issue's core. I'm sure that one could say, "I am going to research further and get back to you" or a manager could ask their employee to "gather more information to get to the bottom of it".

5. "Show Stopper" - A highly important item that if not addressed will cause detrimental effects. I already have a short attention span, so sayings like this just take me away from the meeting at hand. It makes me think that the meeting I am in is really about something fun and interesting and then I snap back to reality and find myself in a boring meeting discussing budgets or something.

6. "Push Back" - To disagree with an idea. In different workplace settings I have had bosses who welcome push back or simply despise it. This takes us to my theory that these terms, thought to be universal can carry different meanings in different places and you never really know what your coworker or boss is talking about. Oh, or is that just me? Perhaps I am "pushing back" on all these terms because I don't know their true meanings.

7. "Buy In" - Gaining support perhaps from upper management and/or executives.

8. "Take this Offline" - Discuss a topic or issue at a later time, outside of the current meeting.

9. "Benchmark" - Making comparison or evaluation of best practices (lingo within lingo) within industry to aide in making informed and strategic decisions. And that is fine, it is actually needed in all business aspects to remain competitive in the company's respective industry. But another that I have witnessed be used numerous times a day.

10. "Stay in the loop" - Yet another form of "Touch Base". Staying informed of a variety of things including, physical whereabouts throughout the work day, progress on assignments, projects and tasks, all not to leave your boss, coworkers without a clue of what is going on in relevance to them. (wink, wink) Yes, it is the name of the blog, but believe me, this phrase is the only one that I admit has made a home in my vocabulary!