Corpspeak! 2

[eyeswideclosed]

My company never used it much before but lately I'm hearing "going forward" a lot, this could lead to worse things, like "win-win" or (horrors) "talking points", it's a slippery slope! Like drugs! I must kill it now before it gets bigger! Then we are all doomed! Doomed I say!!

 

[mjldba]

Steve: I've never heard of an albatross in golf either and any reference I've heard pertaining to an albatross (..like an albatross around their neck ...) I've understood it to have a negative connotation and there's NOTHING negative about a double eagle.

Gene Sarazen made one of the most famous double eagle's, his taking place in the 1935 Masters so perhaps albatross is "old school".

This term/phrase doesn't directly refer to the relationship between any std. par score for a hole and the actual score taken (like the examples RCorrigan listed) but have you ever "shot a snowman" on any given hole?

For the golf-challenged out there, that's taking 8 shots to get the ball in the hole, regardless of the hole being a par 3, 4, or 5 which means you should probably think about taking-up bowling.

 

[Scott24x7]

I would suggest what you are suffering from in your land of
"Corp speak" disillusionment is the improper use of the terms...

Paradigm is a word derived from the Greek word for "pattern". To "Shift the Paradigm" is to change one's patterns. So you could say it either way, but that is part of what the evolution of language (especially the English language) is all about... I can honestly say I've never heard anyone seriously say:

Let's implement the new paradigm shift going forward

and if they did, clearly they fall into the category of those I referred to earlier who don't know what they are talking about. "New Paradigm Shift" is like saying something is "Very Unique". If it is a shift in paradigm, it is new... if it is unique, it can't be "More Unique".

I don't disagree that there are lots of people out there using a language in ways they don't understand... and you know, it's not just corp speak used improperly that annoys me... it's miss use of language full stop, generally by people who are really just trying to make themselves sound smarter then they are, only to reveal to those around them that they are in fact, quite the opposite. My personal biggest hate is the misuse of "Ideal" for "Idea".

Anyway, on I rant...



Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[eyeswideclosed]

Exactly. Here is an extreme example from a previous post:

Instead of just saying "ok guys let's do x now and let's do it right", say: "in order to further implement our key strategic integrated solutions structure within a team-oriented paradigm hands-on approach on a global go-forward basis encompassing our corporate vision and core competencies with our key enablers with a fast-track deliverable, we will focus on our talking points in a highly motivated synergistic way while thinking outside the box with our value-added up-selling win/win philosophy and action item challenges within an emerging growth industry in order to leverage our major accounts with a highly focused impactful initiative.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I have heard of albatross being used, in fact, it's happened twice this season on the PGA tour. And yes, I've had more snowmen on my card than I care to admit.

--------------
Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[RCorrigan]

I personally switch off if people start using that kind of jargon ..... if someone wants my attention, facts and plain speaking will win every time ............. and in my experience the worst offenders of using CorpSpeak have the least substance in what they are trying to put across.

<Do I need A Signature or will an X do?>

 

[eyeswideclosed]

And it always starts innocently enough with a seemingly innocuous "...going forward" here and there...remain vigilant! Act quickly! Kill it before it grows!

 

[sbudzynski]

Hmm now that I know what albatross means I think I'll still stick to calling them double eagles. I don't know I'd just feel silly using the term.. not like I'd ever need to use it anyway!

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"

 

[flapeyre]

I hate it when someone around here says, &quot;That program has issues&quot;.

Magazines and newspapers have issues, programs have problems.

Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui!

 

[Stella740pl]

Hmm now that I know what albatross means I think I'll still stick to calling them double eagles.

But actually, albatross is a sea bird that has nothing to do with an eagle,
or a double eagle, for that matter.
It somewhat resembles a seagull (even though it's from a different family). Here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross

 

[sbudzynski]

I would feel silly calling real albatross double eagles!

How about this from now on:

I will call real albatross - albatross
I will call golf albatross - double eagles

And that is how it will remain in the RULES OF STEVE

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"

 

[gbaughma]

What is wrong with Win-Win? Is it our conditioning that leads us to think that there has to be a winner and a loser? That there can't be a mutually agreeable solution that effectively benifits all parties?

I did a leadership training on Win/Win recently (7 habits, habit #4... think "Win/Win") and you're exactly right.

The paridigm is that there is only so much pie... if someone gets a larger piece, that leaves less for you.

Thinking "win/win" means that there IS no pie.... I have the flour, you have the sugar, someone else has the fruit, and *together* we can make the pie. Without cooperation and collaboration, there is no pie to split up.

It's a great way to think, actually.



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[sbudzynski]

it beats lose/lose

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"

 

[Turkbear]

Hi gbaughma


That may be the best example of Win/Win I have ever read.












To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[mjldba]

Think about two teams that each has a player who does not suit the current/longterm needs of their organization but will fit in quite well with another team, so a trade is excuted and both teams benefit ..... win/win.

 

[Lunatic]

RCorrigan - you've hit the nail on the head (cliché warning). The validity that TechSpeak (as to the extent I am versed in it) has over CorpSpeak is that TechSpeak relates to actual things.

New words and phrases may be added from time to time as needs arise, but in my experience they don't become clichéd. Maybe they do and I just haven't experienced it...

But CorpSpeak is the creation of coined phrases (clichés) that everyone is supposed to understand. Win/Win, snyergy, "thinking outside the box", "putting on our thinking caps", "working smarter/stronger/better", etc.

Initially these phrases may all have a real meaning behind them, but as the 'movers and shakers' use them (or steal them) everyone else begins to use them and soon the meaning is lost and replaced with a generalist impression that every cliché represents. At this point people begin to use the phrases because they feel obligated to even if they don't truely understand the meaning, and in those cases you, the recipit of the speech, are supposed to make up for their lack of knowledge and precision. Couple that with the structured world of WorldCorp (despite the constant remind to 'think outside the box') and the result is a workforce more confused after the speech than before.

And much like the fact no one will ask a question in class even though everyone does not understand the point, the speaker (much like the teacher) recieves the mistaken impression that people understand the message (which they themselves are likely not completely clear on), which rewards and reinforces the use of CorpSpeak.

***

In specific regards to 'win/win' - the problem is no the paridigm, but the use. A win/win is fairly obvious, but expanding upon gbaughma's example, win/wins are only possible in certain stages. Once the pie is made there is only a certain amount of pie regardless of how many hands helped make it. Too many people use win/win incorrectly and this had lead to its inclusion as a staple of CorpSpeak.

***
gbaughma - I'm not arguing against the paridigm shift you are suggesting, I am trying to highlight the risks that are taken in making the shift. The risks may end up being signficantly less than the reward, but it they are there and weren't touched upon.

When you win/win you are giving something up, even if its not immediately tangible or even evident for years. In the pie creation example, if you build a pie with other people and your compeitors builds it themselves you have traded flexibility (by becoming dependent on others for part of the creation process) and in the future you are risking being at a skill-disadvantage because you never learned how to provide the apples for the pie. In a perfect free-market this would not likely be a problem, however this system is not a utopian free-market so the ugly head of reality does thus rear.

 

[eyeswideclosed]

gbaughma, you have been assimilated, we are sending a rescue party, we'll get you into a plain-language reeducation camp soon...hang on.
Lesson #1:
"win-win" is corpspeak for "this is good for everybody".

 

[SilentAiche]

But actually, albatross is a sea bird that has nothing to do with an eagle...

With respect to golf, it's technically a "balled eagle."

Tim


[blue]__________________________
"Brain Farts" are scentimental - [/blue]

 

[sbudzynski]

whats good for the goose is good for the gander

two birds with one stone

early bird gets the worm


is this all corp speak?


----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"

 

[SilentAiche]

<off> If the corpse speak, perhaps the "coffin" was just due to a chest cold.

Or he wished to be a "boxer" only briefly.

<still off, but you knew that>



[blue]__________________________
"Brain Farts" are scentimental - [/blue]

 

[eyeswideclosed]

Steve, that is not corpspeak, come on man you know what the talking point is at this juncture..