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Corporate Jargon Definitions
Run it up the flagpole! All hands on deck! Quick win!
Corporate jargon is a thing—and everyone seems to use it regardless if they’re fans of it or not. But what does each phrase really mean? Why say “bandwidth” when you can say time? Why say “take it offline” when you could phrase it “let’s discuss this elsewhere”?
We surveyed 1,000 adults on their use of office idioms. Some jargon, like “big picture,” are used by just about everyone. Others, like “boil an ocean” and “I’ll ping you” get under peoples’ skin. Read on to see which office jargon rolls off the tongue the most, and which sayings people think should stop being a thing altogether.
We surveyed 1,000 men and women aged 18+ via Pollfish on their opinions and usage of common office jargon. From there, we broke down the findings by gender and age, as well as usage and preference.
30,000 foot view | To look at the overall goals and objectives rather than small details. |
Action-item | A take-away task that needs to be completed in the near future. |
All hands on deck | All employees are needed to complete a project. |
Analysis paralysis | Overthinking a situation to the point that nothing actually gets accomplished. |
Back-end | Essential work that goes into the creation of a product that a customer doesn’t see. |
Bandwidth | Referring to the amount of time someone has available to spend. |
Behind the 8 ball | Referring to being in a difficult situation. |
Big Picture | The ultimate goal or main idea. |
Boil an ocean | To take on an impossible project or task. |
Bring to the table | Referring to the skills or value that someone can bring to your company. |
Buy-in | Accepting or committing to an idea or course of action. |
Change agent | A person who is the catalyst for business improvements or innovation. |
Circle back | The notion to revisit a topic at a later time. |
Deck | Shorthand for a set of PowerPoint presentation slides. |
Deep dive | To look at the details of a project closely. |
Disconnect (as a noun) | A situation where expectations differ from reality. |
Disruptive | Referring to the process of changing existing technology with something new. |
Dot your i’s and cross your t’s | To be detail oriented and thorough in your tasks. |
Drill down | To look further into the matter or get more details. |
Go all in | To put all of your energy or resources into something. |
Heavy lifting | Bearing the burden of the most difficult and time-consuming work on a project. |
High level | To explain a concept without getting into the small, technical details. |
Holistic overview | To take into account other external factors that can affect an outcome. |
I’ll ping you | Send someone a message using an online messaging system. |
I’ll run that up the flagpole | Moving the project on to the next appropriate person for approval. |
Ideate | To think of and came up with new ideas. |
In the weeds | When a task is too hard to accomplish because there are too many problems involved. |
KPIs | Key Performance Indicators; points used to evaluate the performance of something or someone. |
Learning (as a noun) | Knowledge gained from a conversation or past project. |
Leverage | Manipulating a situation so someone can control it in their favor. |
Low-Hanging fruit | Tasks that are easy to accomplish or problems that can be easily solved that provide clear benefits. |
Onboarding | Assimilating a new employee into an organization; introducing service to new customers. |
Out-of-the-box | An idea that is unusual or new. |
Put a pin in it | To delay discussion, engagement, or work on a project to another time. |
Quick win | Something that can be done quickly that will provide a beneficial outcome. |
Reinvent the wheel | To redo an existing process, idea, or way of thinking. |
ROI | “Return on Investment” i.e. whether something is worth it. |
Stack hands | To imply that every team member is in it together. |
Sync up | To meet with someone and touch base on an idea or topic. |
Take it offline | To discuss something with someone in a separate time and place. |
Touch base | To meet or talk with something about a specific issue. |
Value-add | Benefits of a feature that provides value to customers. |
Where/when the rubber meets the road | The time or place at which something matters the most. |
Wordsmithing | To change, edit, or make a play on words. |
Email us at media@verizon-business.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
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