You are sitting with your friends having a catch up when they start talking in riddles and using abbreviations or random words you have never heard before! Corporate jargon otherwise known as corporate lingo, workplace jargon, business speak to name a few is often commonplace among large corporate companies and especially those originating in the USA. For some, it can be frustrating to be lost among such language so we have collated some common terms and provided you with an explanation for each. There are many references to such jargon which include using abbreviations, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Here they are……….
Abbreviations
COB – close of business
CSW – completed staff work
EOD – end of day
FTE – full-time equivalent
FY – fiscal year
HIBBIS – heads in beds, butts in seats
KPI – key performance indicators
NDA – non-disclosure agreement
PCP – previous corresponding period
POS – point of sale
PQQ - pre qualification questionnaire
RFP - Request for Proposal
RFQ - Request for quote
RIF – reduction in force
SBU – strategic business unit
SME – subject matter expert
TCO – total cost of ownership
TTT - this time tomorrow
WC – week commencing
WE – week ending
YTD – year to date
Nouns
Blue sky thinking: Idealistic or visionary ideas
Cascade: Array of possible actions to take in response to a problem: protocol
Check in the box: complete the task
Flavor of the month: the current popular activity/person as directed by the company/client/management
Hub: an idea which other ideas are linked to
Joined-up thinking: Discussing the viewpoints of each organization and coming to an agreement or compromise
Kill two birds with one stone: doing one action will result in achieving two goals
Low-hanging fruit: Tasks that have the greatest positive effect for the least effort, used when promoting new projects to show the advantages
One belly button to push: Reduced number of suppliers
Raft of measures: A collection of proposals or schemes
Tent pole: the task or item most likely to delay a project or consume the most resources
Silver bullet: One solution for everything
Under-pinning: The foundations of an idea, which helps another related scheme or proposal
Womb to tomb: An idea or program that is killed before it has a chance to grow or flourish
Verbs
Baked In: Same as "included," in principle. Something which has been "baked in" is implied to be impossible to remove
Boil the Ocean: An effort or task which is perceived by the speaker to be impossible or impractical
Build Capacity: Take actions which produce no useful output immediately, but increase the amount of useful work which can be done in the future
Cover all directions of the compass: Try to make things acceptable for all stakeholders
Create the storyboard: Outline what the solution will look like
Deep dive: Get into the detail
Eating one's own dog food: Use the same product that is sold to your customers, especially if it's a bad product
Land and expand: To sell a small solution and then grow it within the client's environment
Moving forward: Making progress on an idea or scheme
Pick the low-hanging fruit: Go for the easiest option
Power to the elbow: Get additional backup information to make your case stronger
Pushing the envelope: Going outside normal boundaries to achieve a target or goal
Sing from the same hymn sheet: Show a united front or everyone understanding and saying the same thing to customers or service users
Touch base: To meet up with a colleague to discuss progress
Adjectives
Cross-Functional: resume jargon, music to management's ears
In the loop: knowing what's going on and being kept informed
Off the shelf: buying in a product or service already completed
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