"Working Very Tight" was not an expression I was familiar with. In fact it’s not even listed on one of my favorite Blogs Buzzwhack.
The term.”working very tight” came up in a conversation I was eavesdropping on. Actually, it wasn’t as if I had to strain to hear the conversation. It was one of those situations where the four people involved seemed oblivious to the fact that those of us sitting next to them could hear everything they said.
The four, sitting in the gate area of the airport, were discussing a new company policy requiring them to use their own cars to go to meetings off campus . The problem? They couldn’t expense it.
That’s when one of the co-workers said, “We’re working very tight." Here’s the thing about buzzwords. If I asked people to guess what it meant, there’s a good chance some people would interpret the phrase in a very positive way saying their team had sailed through the forming, storming, norming stages of team development and were now performing like a high performance team should.
Of course, that’s not what it means--at least in this workplace. Working Very Tight obviously means the company is pinching pennies. Bleeding the turnip dry. In the red. About to downsize.
Having an expression that is company-centric is actually a very common phenomenon.Mary Zellmer-Bruhn, a professor in the strategic management and organization department at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota says,“By being intentionally obscure to the outside it’s hard for people to know what they are up to and to copy them. Having your own language helps organizations maintain a competitive advantage."
Zellmer- Bruhn also says that having a corporate language plays an important role in the development of the corporate culture. “It makes people feel they are part of a group and that creates loyalty. People are more committed and feel special when they speak a similar language."
Turns out that in corporate speak, like music and books, there are a variety of genres. The genre your company uses says a lot about the culture.
Militaristic Corporate Speak: A company that relies on terminology like deploy, flying under the radar, and annihilate the competition, probably is a hierarchical command and control organization that is concerned with job titles and clear boundaries.
Sports Oriented Corporate Speak : Companies that like to say there is no “I” in Team , tag-up, and drop the ball, suggest that the organization is more fluid.
Acronym Corporate Speak:Then there are the companies that talk in acronyms. This is a culture that doesn't want to waste time. They charge by the hour and using three syllables throughout the day can add up to lost revenues.
Recently, I was interviewing an executive from an acronym rich culture. As he was talking about the EU, the PD and COI I had to interrupt, multiple times to have him translate. Truth is I got hung up on EU.—I couldn’t figure out why he was referring to the European Union. I was totally 404. He finally explained he was talking about the organization’s Economic Unit. Good thing it isn’t a global company that has to deal with the real EU.
On the other hand there are corporate buzzwords that transcend individual corporations. It seems that once a phrase gains some traction and is used 24/7, it can make some people go postal.
Now there's relief for the buzzword challenged. It's called Lingo Bingo.
The Freeman Institute ™ provides this home-made version along with an explanation of game rules on its website.
How to play Lingo Bingo
Very simple. Check off each block when you hear these words during a meeting, seminar, or phone call. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally,you've won Lingo Bingo.
Some of the words that you can use to create your Lingo Bingo Card:
Synergy, Strategic Fit, Core Competencies, Best Practice, Revisit,
Paradigm, Bottom Line, Result-Driven, Out of the Loop, Benchmark,
24/7, Ball Park, Game Plan , Client Focus[ed], Mindset,
FastTrack, Win-Win, Value-Added, Empower [ment], Leverage,
Take That Offline, Think Outside the Box ,At the End of the Day ,Proactive, Knowledge Base
You can also get a free pre-made Lingo Bingo card from Business Buzzword Bingo
That's about it. G2G. BRB next week.
Have a story? I want to hear it! The success of this column depends on people sharing their stories-- so whether its a boss, co-worker, corporate policy or just general corporate nonsense, let me hear from you --your identity and the identity of your place of employment will be protected. The goal is to tell the story, not get anyone fired.