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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, February 7, 2005

Industry jargon sometimes a lose-lose

By Dana Knight
Indianapolis Star

At the end of the day all that really matters is thinking outside the box.

Overused buzzwords

These are some of the most overused buzzwords in the workplace:

• At the end of the day

• Solution

• Thinking outside the box

• Synergy

• Paradigm

• Take it offline

• Redeployed people

• On the runway

• Win-win

• Value-added

• Get on the same page

• Generation X

• Core competency

• Alignment

• Incremental

Source: Accountemps

There has to be a certain synergy in the workplace to create a win-win situation. Everyone should get on the same page and get their synergy going and that — all you Generation Xers — will lead to core competency.

Confused? Irked? In a state of cliche overload?

You have just been exposed to eight of the most overused buzzwords in the workplace.

Buzzword is just a cool way of saying industry jargon — that talk from the smooth guy who wants to impress the boss with corporate slang.

But you have to be careful before you haul out "paradigm," or "alignment." You may end up looking more like a pompous loser than a professional.

"Some buzzwords are so overused they lose their impact altogether," says Giannine Paul, Indianapolis branch manager for California-based Accountemps, which recently polled 150 senior executives to get the lowdown on what phrases and words were being tossed about too much. "You will lose the potency of your topic."

Co-workers may assume you really don't know what you're talking about. Managers may see you as a kiss-up. People you hang with will see nothing more than a bloated ego.

These words and phrases have a way of saying, "Hey, I know something you don't."

"They can be confusing, and if you're speaking to a group or crowd of some sort that is diverse, you can exclude people," says Paul, 32, whose office specializes in temporary placement of accounting and financial professionals.

For example, do you know what "take it offline," "on the runway" or "redeployed people" really mean? They made the Accountemps list.

It's possible at this point they mean a little bit of everything or nothing at all.

"They've been stretched beyond their original meaning," says Annie Hernandez, 26, who works for the Latino organization La Plaza, does consultant work, works with nonprofit organizations and happens upon young professionals from dozens of industries.

"People use them without thinking about really exactly what they mean or the expectation they (evoke)," she says.

Hernandez can inject a buzzword or two into her own workplace conversations. She says the key is to follow up with exactly what you mean.

Instead of just saying the project was a "win-win," explain why. Who won?

Or better yet, dump win-win and get on board with the hottest, newly released buzzwords. As we all know by now, old catch phrases die out — replaced by new, soon-to-be-annoying jargon:

• When you and a co-worker talk about how nasty the boss is, you're having a "water cooler game," (meaning: co-worker discussion) even if it doesn't take place next to the Evian jug.

• If you're unsure about whether your company's new dog massager will make it big, do a "smell test" (meaning: determining the potential success of a product).

• When your employee shows up in jeans on a day when the CEO is doing a walk-through of your department, take a "critical path" (meaning: determining the appropriate steps to take).

• If a client is begging to sign up for your services, you have "low-hanging fruit" (meaning: easy opportunities for new business).

• When it's time to pitch a new project to the head honcho, be sure to give "bandwidth" (meaning: the amount of time and resources needed for a project).

And by all means, at the end of the day, use even these buzzwords sparingly.