Out Of Control Buzzwords; Time-Management Skills; Likeable People

Will someone please tell me why so many business execs are obsessed with buzzwords?

Is it their egos? Are they trying to convince others they are smarter than they really are? Is it ignorance? Or do they simply not care?

I ran across another outrageous example this past week in a press release from Tribune Publishing, which was announcing a name change to tronc. (The new name doesn’t have any capital letters, which is probably a big hint.)

Here it is:

tronc’s strategy “is focused on leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the user experience and better monetize our world-class content in order to deliver personalized content to our 60 million monthly users and drive value for all of our stakeholders.”

If that’s your idea of communicating clearly, you should stop reading now.

I’ve been on a crusade against needless buzzwords for years. I wrote a book on them in 2006, and I wrote a fun post last year – 15 Buzzwords That Don’t Really Mean What You Think They Do.

Yet I see examples like this almost every day – even in inter-office memos.

It’s puzzling. Maybe the #1 thing you can do to be successful in business is to communicate clearly.

Honest.

Believe it or not, really smart people actually appreciate your ability to communicate clearly without all of the distracting buzz language. And the not-so-smart folks actually appreciate knowing what you’re saying.

Ok, rant over.

In case you missed it …

Here’s what else the ResourcefulManager team has been reading this week:

65 Top Tips to Sharpen Your Time-Management Skills

Every day, each of us has 24 hours to spend. Some of us make better use of that resource than others. Here are 65 of the best ways to manage your time from leadership guru Lolly Daskal:

11 Signs You’re An Exceptionally Likeable Person (Even If You Don’t Feel You Are)

You don’t have to be tough to get ahead. Being likeable has its benefits, too. And you’re likely to get more opportunities to do what you want. Find out what they are:

Managing People Is An Art: 32 Ways to Do It Right

There is a special art to leading a staff. Check out these tips, advice, recommendations and best practices from small-business owners who were honored during National Small Business Week.

Puttin’ On The Ritz: A Personal Story Of Great Customer Service

When leadership commits to great customer service, it makes a difference. And few do it better than the Ritz-Carlton. This very personal tale tells it best.

If I Only Knew Then What I Know Now

If I only knew then what I know now … How many times have you said that? If you could go back to your first management job, what single piece of knowledge would you take with you?

Hate Having Those Difficult Conversations? Try this

Most of us dread having to have a “difficult conversation” with an employee. So we look for any excuse to put it off. But that only makes it worse. Our special Difficult Conversations With Employees Blueprint can change all that.

Keep an eye out for …

You’re definitely not going to want to miss Monday’s blog post: 11 Things That Could Go Wrong When You Fire Someone. You may think you’re prepared until one of these 11 happen.

And you’re going to want to keep an eye out for the launch next week of our latest Blueprint: How To Fire An Employee When It Must Be Done.

 

Yours in success,

John Walston
ResourcefulManager-in-Chief