Friday, February 13, 2015

Corporate Newspeak 2015

Perspectives (n-pl; no singular) - Statements presented as true and insightful, sometimes conflicting, none of which the speaker will defend if challenged.
Usage: "We'd like to get together with you to share perspectives on this topic."

Unpack (v) - Saying the same thing as someone else, but without codewords, jargon, insider statements, and/or inappropriate intermingling of concepts, all of which are designed to be either 1/brief by excluding certain details, 2/coded to exclude others from comprehending the statement, or 3/coded just to make the speaker feels smarter than others. In some cases, unpack is abused as a a way of pretending to clarify someone else's statement while subtly incorporating your own bias or position on a topic.
Usage: "Let me unpack Steve's email for you."

Also, a point of follow up. In a 2014 Corporate Newspeak post, I said "nimble" would infect the business world. If you doubt this has happened, Google it. Or just look at the NY Times.