Thursday, October 7, 2010

I hope you find this impactful

Here are some more business cliches compiled by Marlys Harris at MoneyWatch. The first group is here.

KPI (Key Performance Indicators)
Important measurements, usually of the immeasurable. Example: "The American Psychological Association recently established KPIs for marriage: the weekly incidence of sexual intercourse plus the number of hours spent watching the same TV shows, minus total minutes bickering over the proper loading of the dishwasher."

Low-Hanging Fruit
Easy to get, though in the end, often not worth the effort. Example: The Taliban might be low-hanging fruit for our production overrun of beard combs."

Human Capital
Human Resources, previously Personnel. Example: "Human Capital is on the fifth floor."

Skill Set or Fit
Qualifications, generally modified by the words "wrong" or "bad," and most often used by Human Capital staffers as an excuse for not hiring somebody. Example: "His inability to speak in tongues obviously makes his skill set wrong for the litigator position." 

Knowledge Economy
An environment in which a person has run up $150,000 in student loans to pay for a law degree only to see jobs exported to India whose citizens are apparently very knowledgeable about the U.S. legal system. Example: "The best job in the knowledge economy is plumbing because nobody with an advanced degree knows how to use Drano." 

Throughput
Not your conclusions, but the mind-numbing numbers and facts you chewed over to get there; information generally demanded by a micro-manager who won't believe that you did the work. Example: "Don't tell me what you've decided about the Taliban beard-comb project; I just want your throughput."

Footprint
Impact, formerly ecological, but now applicable to anything. Example: "Auntie Meg's rear end had a significant footprint on our sofa."

Impactful
Having a large footprint. Example: "Auntie Meg's rear end had a very impactful effect on our sofa."

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