The modern state of business in a digitized, impersonal world that sometimes portends a post-truth reality and an influx of artificial intelligence (or stupidity)… it sometimes gets to be too much for our frail, human minds to adapt to. So let’s visit some possibly antiquated, overused, generic office terms (in part courtesy of C2FO,a capital funding firm) in an effort to de-clutter (an overused buzzword) our crania.
“Think outside the box”… what box? If you’re not thinking in circles, rhomboids and triangles these days to solve conundrums at work, then perhaps you’re not being challenged or enjoying your job. “Trying something new” or “innovative approaches” should be an expected job expectation quite often. The box was recycled a long time ago, so let’s “86” it… and don’t even begin to ask where the idea of “86’ing” something came from…
“Results-driven”… as opposed to what: failure-intended? Even if you don’t get the result(s) you want, your normal modus operandi in a workplace is results-driven. At some point in a process or post-planning, it would seems results are necessary. We can bag this expression in presentations, too.
“The whole nine yards”… this one allegedly started out as a fabric/garment measurement, so why it symbolizes “everything” in idiomatic expression seems idiotic, or quaint. “All” or “everything” work well, and then our minds won’t wander during the discussion, distracted by this archaic concept that still breathes far too often.
“Giving 110%”… quite the popular term for sports genericists. Let’s be clear, 100% is the absolute max, so you simply can’t “give more”, but we get the gist of this one. If asked to work or try harder, and you said, “I can’t, I’m already giving 107%”, you might be fired for insubordination, but surely not because you’re not giving your mathematical best…
“At the end of the day…”… well, this one doesn’t work great in a world in which we remain connected about 17 hours daily now- does it? Frankly, ending the day at a specific time might allow for more work/life balance which is (thankfully) in vogue in this post-COVID, hybrid era (lifestyles, not cars), so perhaps shorten to “finally…” or “in the end…”
Vapid, outdated, overused expressions that lose context and power. We have the power to change this! Are we on the same page with this low hanging fruit in our ecosystem? Are our ducks in a row?
Good; think about it…