Seven Key Business Buzzwords:
Some recent studies (like this) about the deteriorating career prospects of newly minted MBA grads don’t look very promising. In light of these developments I’d like to offer this much shorter and more cost-effective alternative to the traditionally arduous professional designation. Practice dropping these lines into normal conversations and you’ll have professionals everywhere convinced you’re top management material in no time.
Synergy:
Traditionally this term was a medical one. When two or more muscles or nerves act cooperatively, it’s synergistic action. It eventually evolved into the concept of a sum being greater than it’s parts. In MBA speak, however, feel free to toss this around like a piping hot potato.
Appropriate Contexts:
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“Sarah, I was concerned about undertaking this project with you but our skills are quite complementary and I feel a real professional synergy at work here.”
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You may notice some previously unbeknownst synergy with the cute new hire over in accounting after you pound too many drinks at the Holiday party.
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Some MBAs have discovered synergies between the Sake and the salmon tataki over lunch at their local Hapa.
Polished:
If you’re clean shaven, well-dressed, and you master each of these words, you’ll probably get this one a lot. Once upon a time you’d have been deemed refined, polite, well-dressed, or generally well put-together. But MBAs strive to streamline processes – why have four distinct adjectives when you can have one? A person may be all of the above but that doesn’t matter, just say they’re polished.
Clarification:
Take it Offline:
Don’t you hate when you’re in a meeting and someone asks a question that’s important and should be addressed but it’s outside the scope of your presentation? Normal people might suggest that you simply talk about it after the meeting. Fortunately, MBAs aren’t normal people, so they take it offline.
Appropriate Contexts:
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A colleague kills the mojo of your Q&A session by inquiring about a project deadline that’s a month down the road – (Politely) “Doug, maybe we take this offline?!”
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Cynthia from marketing creates an uncomfortable silence during a client luncheon by discussing her fondness of kittens – “Cynthia I think we should probably take this offline!”
Robust:
In yester-years, a proposal that addressed all foreseeable complications might have been called hearty. A presentation that left no stone unturned was (at least) detailed. A really solid analysis could be deemed thorough. But not today. If you create something that’s destined to turn heads, it’s definitely robust.
Appropriate Contexts:
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The HR team has spent months preparing a robust on-boarding program for new hires.
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The marketing plan is extremely robust; they’ve even included a CLV investigation.
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Commonly combined with polished.
Pipeline:
And not the kind that transports West Texas Intermediate, either. You might have once referred to a project as being in the works, or perhaps you were laying the groundwork for an upcoming approval process. Not anymore, dinosaur. Any pending positive news is now in the pipeline.
Appropriate Contexts:
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So Mr. Johnson, what kind of sales leads do we have in the pipeline?
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Mike, any positive news coming down the pipeline?
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I’ve got a lawsuit in the pipeline after the company Christmas party.
Pivot:
In this context it’s not quite a dance move but rather an awkward lesson we can all thank our middle school PE teachers for. It’s when you firmly plant one foot in the ground and change directions. In business talk it means your plan didn’t work as hoped and it’s probably cheaper to tweak the design, moving in a different direction, rather than bury the idea altogether.
Appropriate Contexts:
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The new software is full of bugs so we’re going to make a pivot in our rollout schedule.
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Sean used to serve in the military; now he’s enrolled in an MBA. That’s a pretty big pivot.
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Susan, it seems I’ve forgotten my wallet – could you please pick up this tab? Sorry about the pivot.
Leverage:
Leverage is a real thing in the business world – it’s actually borrowed money. If a company is highly leveraged it means they’ve financed heavily with debt compared to equity. However, it seems this term has found its way into your standard business vernacular under its more traditional, scientific connotation. It basically suggests that you’re using one thing to get another thing. In fact, if you go a full 9-5 without using the term leverage, you definitely need to review some high school physics to brush up your B School vocab.
Appropriate Contexts:
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I’m going to leverage my experience in retail to help secure an interview with head office.
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Jordan has leveraged his relationship with the VP to move up the corporate ladder.
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Chuck pretended to be a hockey player to meet women in Boston by effectively leveraging his fake Canadian accent.
Congratulations – you’ve got the next best thing to an MBA. Now that you’re all polished go leverage your new knowledge by filling your pipeline with job leads!
~KP