Everybody hates buzzwords. Or at least they say they do.
But virtually everyone uses them.
Even me. And I wrote “The Buzzword Dictionary” back in 2006 to poke fun at them.
People use them for a variety of reasons:
- convey a thought quickly
- be vague or oblique
- make others think they’re smart or hip
- because they’re lazy
- don’t possess an adequate vocabulary
The problem is, buzzwords or buzz phrases often don’t really mean what you think they do.
Here are 15 common buzzwords used in business today – and what they really mean when you dig beneath the surface:
1) competitive salary
Companies regularly tack this phrase onto the end of their job listings as if it’s a major benefit. But all it really means is “We don’t pay any better than anyone else.”
2) rightsizing
A feeble attempt to put a positive spin on downsizing. The idea that now the company will be the right size is a good one. But no one ever says they are rightsizing when they are hiring new people. So fundamentally it means: “We’ve done a lousy job of running this company so we need to cut a bunch of employees to bail us out.”
3) it is what it is
Duh! A truly annoying, meaningless phrase. Basically you’re saying: “I have no idea what is going on and nothing intelligent to offer.”
4) core competencies
Organizations love to talk about their core competencies – the things they believe they do well.
But are they?
After all, a competent employee is simply someone who has been deemed to meet an acceptable level. In another word – adequate. It says nothing about being outstanding or exceptional. So there’s a good chance that “core adequacies” or even “core mediocrities” may be just as accurate.
5) out of pocket
Expenses can be out of pocket. Quarterbacks running for their lives scramble out of the pocket.
But you not being in the office? Well, you’re simply unavailable (or avoiding someone), not out of pocket.
And nobody believes the excuse that you’re “unreachable” any more. After all, everyone has a smartphone with them at all times.
6) peel the onion
OK, we get it. Onions have layers. But all anyone ever does to an onion is remove the thin, outside brown layer, then they slice it up with a knife. Or use their old Ron Popeil Veg-O-Matic. Looking for something to peel? Try an artichoke.
7) pivot
Often used to comfort employees who fear major changes are on the way. It goes like this: “We’re not changing direction, but we are going to have to pivot.”
Of course, if you pivot you are changing direction, even though you’re keeping one foot in the past. In basketball, the center will receive the ball with his or her back to the basket, then pivot to face the basket.
Which, of course, is 180-degrees. So the center is going in exactly the opposite direction.
8) parking lot
As in: “Let’s parking lot that issue.” It’s the valet version of “Let’s set that issue aside,” which is generally a death knell for an idea. Clearly the parking valet either wrecks the car or loses the keys, because once it is in the parking lot it never comes up again.
9) giving a 110% effort
No matter how hard you try, it’s physically impossible to give 110%. It’s basic 5th grade math. If you’ve given everything you have, it’s 100%. Yes, you can increase your productivity by 110%, but that just means you were goofing off in the first place.
10) at the end of the day
A phrase that generally precedes some supposedly great pearl of wisdom. As in: “At the end of the day, it’s still my decision.” But almost never does “at the end of the day” actually mean “the end of the day.” It might as well be “at the end of the hour” or “at the end of the month.” “Ultimately,” “eventually” or “in the end” are more accurate and less wordy.
11) ballpark
A rough guess or estimate. But does it really mean anything? Something in the ballpark can vary wildly. For example, in baseball a bunt may only travel a few feet. A double off the wall may go 400 feet. Plus, it intimates that something out of the park is a bad thing, when we all know that a 450-foot towering home run is a very good thing.
12) codify
A cryptic way of asking you to organize something and write it down. When consulting gurus say they’ll codify your process for you, it means a 200-page report and a $50,000 price tag.
13) talent management
Unless you’re in the entertainment business, talent management actually has nothing to do with you directly managing people or their talents. It is the systems, processes and software that HR folks use in order to create a high-performance, sustainable organization that meets its strategic and operational goals and objectives. Got that?
14) going forward
A relatively useless and lazy phrase to indicate what’s going to happen from now on — as if you had any other choice. It’s not like you can travel back in time three weeks and start over.
15) content
A ubiquitous word that quickly has become an obsession for anyone marketing via the Internet, as in “we need more content to drive more people to our site.”
In this usage, content is generally referred to as a commodity, meaning any form of text, graphics, video, or audio will do. “We need someone to create some content.”
Almost never is it put into the context of what it really means. It’s something that is valuable, unique, interesting, indispensable or just plain funny, which are the only reasons a potential customer is even interested in your content in the first place.
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Loved the one on Talent Management. Why not skills management; or learned management; or job management; or performance management; or simply put, Management…..err supervision….
I disagree with number five. Not everyone has a smart phone (I know some) and not everyone who has a smart phone keeps it on them at all times (I know some of them too).
LeAnne, yeah, I’m sure there are a few… but there aren’t many left… and they are fewer every day. You gotta admit, it’s getting harder to be “out of pocket” every day…..
I agree with you, John, but I also know of times when someone is in an area that their cell company doesn’t serve it as well, so the signal may be very poor or non-existent.
However I also interpreted ‘out of pocket’ as a way of saying, “try not to bug me”, or “don’t be surprised if I ignore your call”.
The real issue here is that a manager, if he or she is going to be effective, has to have some time when they are not interrupted by the ongoing work of the day. “Out of pocket” really means time to think and develop the plan to improve the organization.
I had a good laugh. Popular Buzzwords have been a ‘pet peeve’ of mine for awhile ~ because they are (as you infer in most of your comments) they are disingenuous as to the real meaning of what they are trying to say! One of the phrases businesses use is “no problem”! After some discussion with a co-worker, they quit saying that! One down! ha! The question is: “what if it were a problem?” Aren’t you supposed to be in “Customer service?” Helping someone else shouldn’t be about ‘you’ ~ it should be about ‘them’ ~ and therefore, should never be “a problem”! Thanks for mentioning the “core” of the problem! For fun, I started collecting usages of the word, “core”…. but it has diminished in use. Hmmm, what’s the next buzz word!? How about “Thank You!” : )
No problem! I once worked with a guy who said that on a regular basis – no matter what you asked him to do. Didn’t take long before I realized that when he said “no problem” it really meant that we had a BIG problem.
John,
Number 11. That’s why you have the phrase “Knock ed it out of the ballpark”, which is a “good thing”. 🙂
Henry
Henry, yep, I knew I could count on an old sports editor to clarify it for us!
I used to say “it is what it is” — until a friend quoted me as saying it. Having my name attached to that phrase and hearing it for the first time made me realize how meaningless it is. “At the end of the day” and “going forward” I dropped it for far better buzzwords.
Michele, Yep, we’re all guilty of a few of these. Of course, now I’m dying to know which buzzwords you opted to use instead of “at the end of the day” and “going forward” so I can poke fun at those.
I’m embarrassed to say that i caught myself saying “loop you in” yesterday.
That’s funny. I almost added “loop you in” to this blog post. It was on my list.
John – these are great! During my stint as a publisher I attended more meetings than the law allows and heard these phrases over and over and over… so many times, in fact, that I once asked people if they would just say what they really meant… they looked at me as though I was either crazy or naive… I knew then it was probably time to retire…
Mike – yeah, I’m sure you heard them all. Then again, you heard plenty of this stuff when you were covering the Pentagon too…. and probably at your share of small town council meetings.
Good article John. It points out many “lazy language” pet peeves of mine. Another is the phrase, “In any event.” Really? Any event? The information with which you are about to dazzle me is applicable to every possible situation? Wow! I better take notes.
In any event…… I like it… I’ll put it on my list for the next time I write about buzzwords. Thanks
I go crazy when I get stuck having to watch The Bachelor/Bachelorette on TV. “I’m going to wear my heart on my sleeve.”??? What does that even mean? And “I put myself out there.” Out where?! Argh!
you missed one! “you’re exactly right”
Are there different degrees of “right?”
Yep, you’re exactly right.
One of my favorites is “I don’t have enough bandwidth…” or variations on that theme. Bandwidth in this case meaning enough capability or time or…
-gary
I agree with #13 and I am a Talent Manager for a manufacturing company. I can seldom just tell people what my job title is; usually I have to launch into a story that explains what I do. And yes, I have been asked if I am looking for the next Britney Spears…
Love your wit John! The ‘out of pocket’ one drives me crazy.
thanks, Bailey. Hope you’re doing well!
I could scream every time some one calls wanting to hock their wares and “reach out” to the manager or the HR director or whomever it may be. Enough!
I LOVE the article.
Overall a great blog but you need to use your thesaurus on competency – it means “capability, expertise, proficiency”. Core competency is not synonymous with adequacy or mediocrity. Having said that it – it is probably more clear to say “core capabilities”…
The one I hate is “low hanging fruit”. I hear it all the time, yet don’t work in agriculture!
#9 “give 110% effort” has always been a sore spot for me. The reasons given, I agree with, but the follow-on, I do not.
I would answer the “you’re goofing off in the first place” with a back question: Do you always drive your car at its maximum speed? The answer is of course not. And for many of the same reasons: you are wearing out the car, you are draining the tank, you are reckless. If we are constantly accomplishing our jobs with great speed, we are burning out mentally, we are tired and unable to go any faster when needed, and we are not thinking about whether we are doing the job correctly for the situation at hand. Every employee needs to be working at about 80% of capacity most of the time so we are ready for the times when we really need to go all out.