BATTLING BACK
Some people are fighting back against the purveyors of jargon. Josh McHugh, a former staff writer and associate editor at Forbes who is now a contributing editor at Wired, is inundated with e-mails from technology companies hoping for a mention in one of his articles. When he was at Forbes, the missives were so laden with jargon that McHugh got sick and tired of wading through them. To retaliate he set his e-mail software to screen for the buzzwords he despised. When he received press releases that contained words such as robust and synergy, the senders got an automated reply that said, “Your e-mail was rejected for buzzword abuse.”
Effective leaders make things easier to understand—not harder. Jargon is the lazy, hazy way out. Fortunately leaders can fight back against the buzzword menace.
Be Aware of Your Own Language
I have noticed that a strange change occurs in some people who have had leadership thrust upon them.
For ten years I have worked with a complex business simulation designed to develop managers. Prior to the simulation the participants select their roles—one of which is company president. When those people in the role of president make the required introductory speech at the start of the simulation, many of them immediately lapse into jargon. Frequently a president will proclaim that the company's goal is “to grow the business,” even though at that point of the simulation he or she does not know what the organization is, what it does, or what kind of shape it's in. (In fact the company in the simulation is in need of emergency surgery.)
These ersatz presidents wouldn't tell their kids to “leverage core competencies” at school. So why should they use such language at work? (It's interesting that when the simulations are over, the presidents usually go back to talking in a normal, conversational, jargon-free manner.)
Take a Stand
Assume the lead by modeling clear communication yourself. Eliminate jargon from your vocabulary. Generate a list of the most overused and meaningless buzzwords in your organization, and prohibit staff members from including them in public documents. Here's a list to get you started: drill down, actionable, value-added, core competencies, leverage, synergy, B2B, scalable, solution(s), deliverables, incent, robust, turnkey, enabled, and mission critical.
Put It to the Test
Anytime you write something for others to read, see if it holds up under what Patrick Riccards calls the “mother test.” Riccards, vice president for public relations at software provider Outtask, says that whenever he is putting together or approving a press release, he thinks of his mom, a technophobic high school English teacher. Riccards says that he tries to make sure the message is expressed in terms his mom could understand, and that the company's credibility has increased as a result.
See if what you write for others to read holds up under the “mother test.”
My guess is that the following statement would fail the mother test. (It's excerpted from the “About Us” of a real company; again, only the name has been changed.)
Company Z is a body corporate, which has been structured to meet with the requirements of fulfilling a demand for Information Technology Enabled Services. The portfolio of activities, which have been focused upon thus far, are Voice Transcription, Contact Centres, GIS solutions, Data Warehousing/Mining.
Company Z perceives that it will achieve a predominance in the fields it focuses on in a short span of time, primarily due to the commitment of its promoters and their proven professionalism. The Company has, as its core philosophy, a commitment to excellence and it is this focus on quality above all else, which has been more than amply proved in the individual approach of its promoters.
Find Positive Examples
Not all organizations have succumbed to jargonitis. There are great examples of organizations that communicate clearly, and lessons can be taken from them. For instance, look at eBay's description of its work:
Founded in September 1995, eBay is The World's Online Marketplace for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and businesses. Today, the eBay community includes tens of millions of registered members from around the world. People spend more time on eBay than any other online site, making it the most popular shopping destination on the Internet.
eBay's mission is to provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything.