Ban these words in the corporates!

Like everything else, words lose their shine over time. Some argue that the person in whose hands words rest is the one who actually loses credibility, but that is another argument for another time.  The corporate world, like all other spaces, has its own language, which to the outside world sometimes can appear as Sanskrit or Latin (we are ignorant both in equal measure!) But many of its words have become jaded, worn out or rusted — devoid of vitality, if not meaning. This loss of virility in words can be safely attributed to frivolous over usage more than anything else. On the other hand, this over usage has reached such cacophonic levels that their mere sound elicits ennui, if not irritation. I sometimes wonder if those who overuse such words themselves believe in the true meaning of the words or not. 

My tongue firmly entrenched in my cheek, howsoever rhetorical it may sound, and in the spirit of rampant call for bans that plague our lives these days — I propose someone should look to ban the following words till they regain their strength.

Alignment: The intent of this word is pious — to create synergy and coherence among people and teams. However, it has come to be used as a panacea of all people ills. Managers who are parochial themselves parrot the cause of alignment. People and team frictions may be caused due to structural reasons and the balm of alignment will bring only symptomatic relief at best. 

Strategy: Solving the month’s problem or the quarter goal or even the annual target is not strategy. Every band aid offered to the snicks and cuts of performance is touted as strategy. All meetings pay homage to the word strategy even when what is being discussed is the fastest way to window dressing of result. The word strategy gives an air of importance to the speaker and elicits yawns from the listener. 

Transformation/Change management: Everyone seems to be transforming something or the other these days. Nothing is less than a full blown change management program. With all so deep and fundamental work, one wonders why everything still looks, feels, smells and tastes the same. It is also ironical that the authors of transformation/change management never bothered to check what they needed to transform or change in them. 

Attitude: One man’s food is another man’s poison. A great attitude in one manager’s eyes can be a huge area of improvement in another manager’s eye. Like beauty, attitude lies in the eyes of the beholder or ‘the manager’. It is not uncommon to find an inability to handle a person being described as having an attitude issue. It is also not uncommon to find ‘attitude problem’ — a lazy manager’s inability to sharply define the development issue. 

Culture: Culture is the fuzziest of all words and no one quite knows what the word really means despite tons of literature that has been written on it. It is like five blind men reconstructing their version of the elephant depending upon what they are touching and feeling.  Talking about culture is not the same thing as building it. It is common to see those who cannot build any type of culture or the worst type talk the loudest about culture. The negligent overuse of this word has created a kind of drug resistance that is usually seen with the overuse of antibiotics – it elicits only smirks. 

Customer service/centricity: This word today is what the word ‘quality’ used to be in the 80s and 90s. Everyone pays a tribute to it and claims it as their guiding principle – but customer dissatisfaction is just not moving down. Guess what – Even Indigo airlines claimed it not too long ago. They have ‘beaten themselves to this claim’! Self-centricity – sure; customer centricity – not yet!

I am sure there are more words than the ones enlisted above. Add to the list and enjoy – and the next time you suffer from an instinct to use any of the above, pause and reflect – if you really understand the true sense of the word, and if you have the credibility to use it?  Can you really walk the talk? Words after all construct a frame for the reality for your listeners. They experience you through them.