Here is the eighth twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Politically charged - Mentioning transfers makes your entire conversation very politically charged
2. Prairie dog (in the cube farm) - Our loud laughter prompted our cube farm neighbors to prairie dog (stand up and look over the wall)
3. Process owners - If it doesn't work, then the process owners are at fault
4. Product shake-down - When you drive that car, do a complete product shake-down
5. Productivity-focused metrics - Productivity-focused metrics measure the key enablers to production efficiency
6. Promote accountability - Weekly project reviews will promote accountability among the troops
7. Pucker factor - Any questions not fully answered will create a pucker factor when the director visits
8. Pull out all the stops - They had to pull out all the stops to win the recognition award
9. Pull the plug on it - That project is no longer value-added so pull the plug on it
10. Push the button - Make sure the new budget is all-inclusive before you push the button
11. Quasi-approval - As long as the boss doesn't know about it, we have quasi-approval
12. Quasi-safe - No one has been hurt yet so it's quasi-safe
13. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.) - “Common courtesy - it's not so common anymore.” - Author unknown. So we must have an acronym: Rights and Responsibility, Equality, Standards of Success, Perception, Effort, Communication, Training.
14. Radar screen - The potential for error was not even on our radar screen
15. Ramp-up - Ramp-up the intensity until the assembly is complete
16. Recency of data - The value of your presentation is linked to the recency (freshness) of the data
17. Report on a dotted line - He works in the neighboring department but reports on a dotted line to our department's manager
18. Restructuring - This organization requires restructuring to become effective
19. Risk factors - Have you listed all the risk factors associated with making the data public?
20. Roadblocks - What are the roadblocks to getting complete buy-in?
21. Rocket science (not good) - We don't want to use rocket science to solve this problem
22. Role model - Very few employees are rated as a role model because most of us have imperfections in our work ethic
23. Root Cause Analysis - Perform root cause analysis to find the real culprits
24. Rosetta stone - The missing report could be the Rosetta stone of their data manipulation secrets
25. Rosy glasses - Sometimes we become protective and look at our employees through rosy glasses

The calamity in the use of buzzwords is that they lack universal meaning (definition) and are seldom defined when first used. A manager uses them so that he will sound like his director who used them. A supervisor feels obligated to follow the example. Everyone may eventually be saying the same words but with different buzzword definitions. Hence, communication is greatly hampered.

Here is the seventh twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Menu items - Condense our various department processes into a list of menu items
2. Methodologies - Go find out what methodologies they're using
3. Metric-driven behaviors - Metric-driven behaviors are those most readily noticed by management
4. Mission-driven individual - A mission-driven individual exemplifies the company mission statement in everything he does
5. Morale adjustment - Bring him in for a one-on-one where I will give him a morale adjustment
6. Multi-tasker - Bethany has demonstrated her capability as a multi-tasker
7. My admin. (administrative assistant) - See my admin about setting up that meeting.
8. Near-term (acute sense) - His acute sense makes him a near-term asset
9. Negativity - Don't bring your negativity to the brainstorming meeting
10. No-brainer - The need to attend college is a no-brainer
11. No, no and no - Saying “no, no and no” is my way of telling you that I will no longer listen to your comments
12. Non-value-added work - Taking minutes in the pre-drive meeting is non-value-added work
13. Nudge the boulder - It may require our director's influence to nudge the boulder in our favor
14. Non-event - That assignment is so simple that it is a non-event
15. Okay? (forced conclusion)- We're not going to do that again, Okay?
16. On the other end of the (phone) line - Be careful what you say during conference calls because you never know who might be on the other end of the line
17. On the same page - Can we all get on the same page before the review?
18. One-on-ones - The director is scheduling skip-level one-on-ones (interviews) with the engineers
19. Organizational shake-up - The incentive separation offers will result in an organizational shake-up
20. Our low-hanging fruit are gone - Grammatically speaking, the sentence should be “Our low-hanging fruit is gone.” Since management used the word “are” the phrase stuck as first spoken.
21. Perpetuity - Our annual budget assumes certain items in perpetuity
22. P.I.C.N.I.C. error (problem in chair, not in computer) - Almost every computer user will eventually make a picnic error.
23. Paint with a broad brush - Should we paint with a broad brush and label the entire focus group as deadwood?
24. Play the devil's advocate - Let me play the devil's advocate and ask some embarrassing questions about your proposal. (Does the devil really need more advocates?)
25. Plug me in - I don't know what's going on in the Wednesday meeting. Please plug me in.

The calamity in the use of buzzwords is that they lack universal meaning (definition) and are seldom defined when first used. A manager uses them so that he will sound like his director who used them. A supervisor feels obligated to follow the example. Everyone may eventually be saying the same words but with different buzzword definitions. Hence, communication is greatly hampered.

Here is the sixth twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Incentivize - Incentivize your workers by giving public verbal praise
2. Inoculate the user body - Inoculate the user body by anticipating all possible complaints about the software
3. Issues - His work output and attitude are littered with issues
4. I stepped up to the challenge - Our director hasn't called yet so I stepped up to the challenge in anticipation of his needs
5. Just-in-time - Just-in-time assembly processes reduce component inventory costs
6. Keep our collective eye on the ball - As the launch date approaches; we'll keep our collective eye on the ball
7. Key enablers - What are the key enablers for completing the proposal successfully?
8. Kludge (computer system component mismatch) - He is an expert in kludge resolution
9. Knee-mail distribution (religion-inclined email) - Pray that the boss doesn't catch you distributing knee-mail
10. Knowledge-based decision making - We use the technique of knowledge-based decision making (what would the alternative be?)
11. Largely a result of … - Our low profits are largely a result of declining sales
12. Laser-light focus - The town hall meeting placed a laser-light focus on our department's shortcomings
13. Laundry list - Does your project description have a laundry list for the engineers?
14. Lean concepts - Lean concepts develop into lean practices
15. Lean practices - Lean practices include doing more with fewer resources
16. Learning curve - How steep is the learning curve with that new software?
17. Let's dissect this - You've brought a new issue to the table. Let's dissect this.
18. Let's study that - Some say our output is always late. Let's study that.
19. Let's talk off-line - Let's talk off-line in a side-bar
20. Like (goes well with “you know?”) - It's like, you know, complicated
21. Like I say - “Like I say” is my technique for repeating my point and ignoring yours
22. Looking beyond the mark - Don't make it more complex than necessary by looking beyond the mark
23. Low-hanging fruit - When it comes to cost savings, we've already picked the low-hanging fruit
24. Make sure it boxes - Review your new proposal to make sure it boxes with our traditional presentation style
25. Managing expectations - I'm rarely disappointed because I'm very good at managing expectations

The calamity in the use of buzzwords is that they lack universal meaning (definition) and are seldom defined when first used. A manager uses them so that he will sound like his director who used them. A supervisor feels obligated to follow the example. Everyone may eventually be saying the same words but with different buzzword definitions. Hence, communication is greatly hampered.

Here is the fifth twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Get our foot in the door - Go get out foot in the door with the finance decision-makers
2. Getting push-back - I volunteered to join their focus group but we're getting push-back from the legacy members
3. Grassy knoll - Watch their progress from a grassy knoll so we'll be ready to take action
4. Grow the business - Making our customers in other departments dependent on our output is a part of growing the business
5. Handcuff it - We don't want anything to go wrong so handcuff it for absolute control
6. Handle it in a Sidebar - Don't diffuse this meeting by dealing with topics that you can handle in a sidebar (some other time and place)
7. Handrail it (guide) - Handrail it by providing vital information while letting progress take a natural course
8. Have we finished conversating? - I have another meeting to attend; have we finished conversating? (There is no such word as “conversating” It is a natural outgrowth of “can we conversate.”.
9. Heads up - Why didn't you give me a heads up about her poor work ethic?
10. Held hostage by… - We seem to be held hostage by the misunderstanding you created two years ago
11. Heuristically speaking - Our test programs are evolutionary; heuristically speaking
12. Hit a sweet spot - Your specific praise of the engineer's work hit a sweet spot with his manager
13. Hit all four corners of the box - We hit all four corners of the box. because we had flawless research
14. Holes in the data? - Where are the holes in the data set?
15. Home run - Hit a home run by having all your ducks in a row for the presentation
16. Hotdesking - Acquire additional skill sets and you can do some hotdesking (filling in) when other workers are laid-off
17. How to eat the elephant - If you will each take a small part of the project, I'll show you how to eat the elephant
18. I need the info - I'm the boss, I need the info
19. I.D.I.O.T error - Even the boss can make an IDIOT error.
20. If you're happy with it - If you're happy with it, then go ahead and do it and I can claim it was completely your idea
21. Initiatives - You don't have enough project initiatives to make yourself worthwhile to our organization
22. In no uncertain terms - I told him in no uncertain terms not to cooperate with the cost increases
23. In the driver's seat - As the manager, I'm in the driver's seat
24. In the Zone - You'll understand all of these buzzwords when you get in the zone
25. Incentive compensation (I.C.) employee level - An egalitarian society is not possible in an environment that includes both IC and non-IC employees.

Here is the fourth twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Eagles flying in formation - My job as boss is to get all of you eagles flying in formation (strangely, eagles are solitary and do not fly in formation)
2. Easy read - Your technical report is an easy read
3. Egalitarian social environment - We want all employees to feel that they are working in an egalitarian social environment (this would require that all company employees share equally in political, economic and legal rights; a condition that seldom exists in American corporate structures)
4. Empowered subordinates - Just because you tell your subordinates what to do, doesn't mean they are not empowered
5. Etched in stone - Our solution to that problem is not etched in stone as long as we have several alternatives
6. Eye candy - Park that new car in the lobby to serve as eye candy
7. Eye chart - Your spreadsheet is so complex that it becomes an eye chart when used in an overhead visual presentation
8. Exclamation marks, multiple (!!,!!!, !!!!) - When I am really serious, I will add multiple exclamation marks!!!
9. Face time - I noticed that yesterday's meeting gave you more face time with the boss
10. False start - Poor attendance at the launch meeting gave the project a false start
11. Feasibility discussion - Make a table of the feasibility enablers and feasibility roadblocks and we will have a feasibility discussion
12. Feedback session - Let's schedule a feedback session to review your annual performance evaluation
13. Fire off an email - Don't fire off an email until you have calmed down!!!
14. Fishbone diagram - Do a fishbone diagram on that problem to identify all possible causes and the most likely causes
15. Five whys analysis - Ask “why?” five times and you have conducted a five whys analysis
16. Flesh it out - Take the straw dog and flesh it out by adding more details
17. Focus groups - Put together focus groups to help us prevent violence and harassment in the workplace
18. For all intents and purposes - For all intents and purposes, he is finished as an employee due to poor attendance
19. For lack of a better word - I will say we are bankrupt for lack of a better word
20. From the desk of… (yes, the desk has a pen set) - Get me some stationery that says “From the Desk of…” so that recipients will know it is important
21. Functional fixedness - This department is suffering from functional fixedness and is no longer innovative
22. Functional town halls - Our improvement plan includes having quarterly functional town hall meetings (what is the alternative?)
23. Full-court press - Put a full-court press on the mechanics to get the system assembled on time
24. Game plan - Profits are sinking; what's your game plan?
25. Get him (me) plugged-in - The new guy is not aware of our objectives. Get him plugged-in.

Do you have any buzzwords or phrases to add? Please send them to the author as a comment to this page.

The calamity in the use of buzzwords is that they lack universal meaning (definition) and are seldom defined when first used. A manager uses them so that he will sound like his director who used them. A supervisor feels obligated to follow the example. Everyone may eventually be saying the same words but with different buzzword definitions. Hence, communication is greatly hampered.

Here is the third twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Core competencies - Our team's core competencies are the skills that cannot be found elsewhere in the company
2. Cover all the bases - When we have a complete profile of our product's users, we'll be empowered to cover all the bases
3. Cradle to grave - Follow that design from concept phase until the end of useful life, or from cradle to grave
4. Craft a memo - Bring the engineers in and we'll delicately craft a memo to the supplier
5. Craft a response - Craft a response so that they know we are barely satisfied
6. Crystallize the issues - Crystallize the issues by analyzing all customer complaints
7. Cube farm (office furniture) - These room dividers create a wonderful cube farm for our staff
8. Deal breakers - Poor fuel economy and high warranty costs are the deal breakers for that model
9. Deep dive - Do a deep dive to find the absolute cause of the problem
10. Dial in - Put together a conference call and I'll dial in
11. Dial it in - Identify all the variables and adjust them to dial it in
12. Dial it back - I was too aggressive with the disciplinary action so now I will dial it back
13. Dial it up - We don't have enough focus on fuel economy, so dial it up
14. Dialoguing - Our manager is dialoguing with Human Resources to find a part-time employee
15. Disciplined pizzazz - Our improved products will embody disciplined pizzazz
16. Do a roll-up - This two-year project needs to end soon, so do a roll-up
17. Don't go there - I know there is no fat in the proposed budget. Don't go there.
18. Don't need proof, just the data - What you're saying might be right, but I don't need proof, just the data
19. Don't take the lead on this one - Don't take the lead on this one because we want someone else to be proactive
20. Do the PM (preventive maintenance) - Do the PM before the rumors become embarrassing
21. Dovetail into other tasks - Changing the software configuration dovetails into other product improvement tasks
22. Down the chimney accuracy - Be sure you know who is spreading the rumors so you with speak with down the chimney accuracy
23. Drag our feet on this one - Let's drag our feet on this one and someone else might respond first
24. Draw a line in the sand - When you talk to their manager, draw a line in the sand about how much manpower we will devote to it
25. Drop dead date - Next Monday is the drop dead date for delivering the program's functional objectives

The calamity in the use of buzzwords is that they lack universal meaning (definition) and are seldom defined when first used. A manager uses them so that he will sound like his director who used them. A supervisor feels obligated to follow the example. Everyone may eventually be saying the same words but with different buzzword definitions. Hence, communication is greatly hampered.

Here are the second twenty-five of at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence or followed by descriptive dialogue.

1. Blue sky thinking - Blue sky thinking is to pretend there are no potholes in our path
2. Boiled-in - Too many out-dated practices have been boiled-in to our operating procedures
3. Brain surgery - The science to upgrade that system is not brain surgery
4. Brick and mortar business - Virtual business is beginning to replace brick and mortar business (brick and mortar refers to real estate, buildings and machinery to do work rather than just a computer)
5. Brief me - I have a meeting with the director in ten minutes. Brief me on all you have learned about that subject during your last 15 years of working on it.
6. Bubble-up the deliverables - Bubble-up the deliverables to the 10,000 foot level and generate an action item list for the director's meeting
7. Business acumen - Your performance evaluation will include an analysis of your business acumen (quick and accurate judgment, keen insight)
8. Business solution - It may not matter if engineering says the change will work. What we need is a business solution (not a technical solution).
9. But, again … - Repeating “but, again” is to ignore what you just told me in favor of my original opinion
10. Buy-in - Do you have buy-in from the entire user body? “Acceptance” or “agreement” might be better terms to use than “buy-in”, especially when there is no financial exchange involved
11. Can we consense? - The work “consense” is not a real word but a business office abbreviation of the term “reach a consensus.”
12. Can we have a dialogue? - To have a “dialogue” now mean a conversation with common understanding or agreed-upon action items or a pre-defined outcome to a conversation
13. Can't rest on our laurels - You've done well with that product but we can't rest on our laurels. The next product must be even better.
14. Cascade to direct reports - When you return to the office, take this information and cascade it to your direct reports
15. Change agent - He may not know what your work includes, but because he is a change agent, things are going to be different around here
16. Check the box - Check the box by completing the exceptions report and giving it to the change agent
17. Chime-in - You had an opinion and did not bother to chime-in
18. Clearly, at the end of the day - Clearly, at the end of the day, what this business needs is satisfied customers who generate sales and profit
19. Coaching is needed? - I must assume that coaching is needed because you made an error in your project status presentation
20. Collective conscience - One or two of us may feel that our position on that topic is not the same as our collective conscience
21. Confront reality - When we confront reality we will realize that most of us are losing our jobs
22. Consultant working position - He is the brain trust on this topic and, with no authority; he has a consultant working position
23. Continuous improvement - We will achieve continuous improvement every time we approach that challenge
24. Cook book solution - Have your team develop a cook book solution to that complex problem
25. Cook the books - I think he had an accountant cook the books to create the appearance of productivity

Here are the first twenty-five at least 200 contemporary buzzwords. Each is used in a sentence.

1. 10,000 foot level view - Supervisors look at their assignments from the 10,000 foot level view.
2. 50,000 foot level view - Supervisors are short-sighted. Managers take the 50,000 foot level view.
3. 100,000 foot level view - Directors know that business must be run from the 100,000 foot level view.
4. 24 x 7 - This business is operational 24 x 7 (twenty-four hours/day & 7 days a week).
5. 360 degree turnaround - This department will make a 360 degree turnaround.
6. 800 pound gorilla - Every department's project list includes an 800 pound gorilla.
7. A business reason, case or need - We won't consider your idea until you've written a complete business case for it.
8. A watershed year - Everyone is anxious to spend money in a watershed year.
9. Absolutely - I absolutely agree with you. The funny thing here is that almost nothing is absolute. Even when we agree with someone, there are still points of disagreement in the approach, the timing or some other detail. We absolutely abuse the word absolute.
10. Action items - We've bubbled up the deliverables to create an action items list.
11. Acute sense - We share an acute sense of our responsibilities.
12. Aggregate knowledge - Get everyone together and pool our aggregate knowledge on this subject.
13. Aggregated content - This product will contain the aggregated content of the user body interests.
14. Air our dirty laundry - To show all the details of our work would be to air our dirty laundry.
15. Ambassador attitude - Be certain to have an ambassador attitude when you attend that meeting so they won't be focused on our disagreements.
16. Any way, shape or form - I didn't have anything to with that proposal in any way, shape or form.
17. At the controls - Let's talk only to the guy who's at the controls.
18. At this five minutes - I may have a different opinion at this five minutes versus five minutes ago or five minutes later. Note - We should say “these” five minutes for proper grammar.
19. B.E.S.T. (bringing excellence to safety teams) - We will be conducting a BEST review today to see if our safety team is ready. Acronyms are often not expanded frequently enough for the hearers to understand what they really mean.
20. Back burner - Put that question on the back burner because we have no one to assign it to.
21. Baked-in - Write the project so that all the deliverables are baked-in and no further work is needed.
22. Based on heuristics - Evaluation of the product's performance is based on heuristics (look it up on the dictionary because few of the people who say it know what it means).
23. Benchmark - Benchmark our competitor in Asia to learn their best practices.
24. Bespoke or bespoken - Our success was bespoken. He bespoke or our success.
25. Best practices - Benchmark all the competitors in the U.S. market and gather up the best practices.

 

Of all of the phrases that are pointless, meaningless and overused, "going forward" really is the highest ranker. Initially, it came in as a substitute for "in the future," referring to plans to progress projects, etc. Of course, it's not really about going forward in any sense other than chronologically, because much corporate activity is about dressing up the same carp to look different. Never mind the fact it still exudes the same aroma of fish. Why "going forward" has gained such popularity is beyond me. Why not say "in the future" which has the same number of syllables, or something meaningful dependent on the context its being used? Time was when context mattered. But going forward has gone viral. It's become the "erm" of the corporate world. It's a phrase, a sentence and a full stop in itself. “We'll book a telecon to discuss it going forward.” “Yeah, book me in on my diary going forward.” As such, it's become a cliché. More than that, its ubiquitous use has stripped it of any meaning.
Having heard the phrase used in interviews on the news recently, it appears that "going forward" has actually seeped into the real world.

Reinventing the Wheel

Reinventing the wheel is something that no sensible person would attempt. And most corporate bods are sensible enough to realise this. And not reinventing the wheel is something you'll find managers bragging about. It's a new approach, but they're not trying to reinvent the wheel. Having said that....

Avoid Fillers

 

People pause and hesitate in conversation all the time. Sometimes it's because they're struggling for the right word. Sometimes it's simply out of habit. In linguistics, vocalised hesitations are referred to as "fillers." According to Michael Larcombe writing in New Scientist in 1995, "silence is often construed as a signal that the current speaker is ready to give up his or her turn. So, if we wish to continue our speaking turn, we often need to fill the silences with a sound to show that we intend to carry on speaking." But there probably aren't many linguistic experts in the corporate world, which is why when call centre staff are trained, they are instructed to avoid "foghorning." This is presumably because protracted "eeeeer" sounds are a little like foghorns. Ok. But it's also perhaps unsurprising that speakers of different languages use different sounds as fillers, which renders the term meaningless when used in training notes for staff in call centres based in India. Imperialism - or unfathomable ignorance - remains rife.

It's On My Radar

A statement you'll hear countless times when travelling by train within earshot of a corporate cock is, “Yeah, yeah, it's on my radar...” A favourite of the inept and those who prefer to look busy rather than actually doing anything.

Car-Park That

 

I suspect that most normal people consider a car-park to be a large flat place where drivers park cars. The clue's in the name, really. But if someone says they're going to "car-park that" during a meeting, it's probably not a good sign. On the surface, it's

Put It On Ice

To me, a freezer is a domestic appliance that keeps foodstuffs cold, thus preserving them. The principle is extended in the business world to refer to keeping an idea fresh but inactive. Or something. A variation of the real-world term whereby something such as a project is put "on ice," putting it in the freezer is much snappier and inventive, and provides a neat alternative to car-parking, or a "cooler" alternative to the back burner.

Be Progressive

 

The corporate world is big on buzzwords. Nevermind if they're meaningful or used sincerely. Image is everything. Substance is for other people to worry about. Yes, the box is empty, but it looks nice from the outside, so people are going to be happy to pay through the nose for it. And they're supposed to be thinking outside the box anyway, so what does it matter what's inside? Progressive is one such buzzword. Companies like to appear "progressive" - whatever that means. As far as I can tell, it means they've found new ways of screwing people over and making as much profit as possible for delivering the minimum of service or product they can get away with.

High-Level Stuff

High Level - serves to reinforce the us and them division between managers and the chairpounders who aren't important enough or savvy enough to understand what the upper echelons of an organisation discuss behind closed doors. The meeting's all about high-level stuff... we'll break it down and roll it out to staff once we've fully digested the implications of the implementing the strategy moving forward. What they really mean is that because they don;t actually do the work, they haven't got a clue, and so talk about things broadly and vaguely with no idea of whether or not it's physically possible. So, "we need to make a saving in this area of £6.2M. if we reduce the staffing levels by 60% that should do it." Yeah, but the work volume's still there. But that's not for the people on the shop floor whose jobs are on the line to worry about, because it's high level. The penpushing proles wouldn't understand.

Pushing the Envelope

The implications of pushing the envelope sound very like passing the buck. But no, It's going beyond the established boundaries. So why not pushing the boundaries or parameters rather than some meaningless metaphorical envelope?

Knowledge is Power

Sometimes there just isn't a carp metaphor or catchphrase that fits the bill. I've overheard managers on phone calls, in telecons or even in meetings foundering for a phrase that sounds impressive and serves to cover the fact they haven't a clue what they're talking about. “yeah, yeah, I've not really got so far going forward on this one, it's got a lot of chefs on it and I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. I'm still trying to capture down the soft knowledge, and it's on my radar...”

But why? Knowledge is power. If you know the code, are privy to the important, "key concepts" you can speak in a manner that sets you apart from the plebs, the drones on the bottom rungs, and those who aren't in the world of business. And in doing so, it's possible to demonstrate that knowledge and radiate signals that you therefore have the power. So, remember and use these phrases in interviews, in meetings, or loudly while loitering at the coffee machine and you'll go far.