It seems that much of the business language we hear (and use) is hard to understand. The Rosetta Stone of business jargon hasn’t been discovered which would allow translation to an easily understood form. I love to study jargon, “terms of art” and language which are unique to the business world. One can discover a great deal about underlying motivations to use such language if you approach the study with a key question in mind: “Does the speaker gain more from my comprehension or from my confusion?” Why would confusion be advantageous to players of the game of business? We can learn by examining one particular word: hedging.
The conflict in conflict minerals
“When my wife opened the box and took out the ear rings, I noticed a flaw in one of the stud diamonds that I hadn’t seen here in the store yesterday,” the man said earnestly to the attentive sales woman, Jill. “Can you take a look?”
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One every minute
It’s been some time since the birth rate of suckers was originally estimated. I have not been able to find peer-reviewed, published research either supporting or refuting the rate attributed (inconclusively) to P.T. Barnum. With or without confirming evidence, we can be assured that the species is indeed procreating, and at a rate that is altogether too high.
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You can’t hide from human intuition
Dear Stan,
We have been negotiating with a strategic buyer of our company for about a year now. The year has been full of business challenges that could have derailed the sale, but we addressed them all and the buyer is still at the table with a good deal for us. Our team has been stressed and there have been occasions of emotional disagreement, which we have been careful to keep among ourselves. We recently met to discuss next steps with the buyer. While the interaction was very positive, he did ask how our senior management team and shareholders were handling our conflicts.
What concerns me most is that that he detected erosion of teamwork between the senior executives. I was with him more than anyone so I’m wondering how he got that impression. I know how important it is for investors to have a comfort level in the management team of a potential acquisition. I have repeatedly raised the issue that each of us must know our roles and responsibilities and how we interact for the benefit of the company. I can’t think of anything that would have raised his concern. How did the buyer get this impression? And what do we do about it?
Signed,
Revealed in San Diego
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