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ManagementSpeak: What managers say/What they mean
If you subscribe to Keep the Joint Running, you look forward to the new episode of ManagementSpeak that appears each week at the beginning of the column. If you don’t … welcome to the wonderful world of management euphemism, obfuscation, and
just plain strange elocution. Welcome, that is, to such explanations as:
“I’m not saying no, but I’m certainly not saying yes.”
(Translation: “No.”) “I like the way you think.”
(Translation: “I’m going to take credit for your ideas.”) “It’s a no-brainer.”
(Translation: “It’s a perfect decision for me to handle.”) ManagementSpeak: What managers say/What
they mean is a perfect gift for anyone who:
Works for a living. Attends meetings. Has a manager. Wants to maintain at least a tenuous hold on whatever tattered shreds of sanity remain after having to
work for a living, attend meetings, and deal with managers who have lost their own sanity after too many years working for a living, attending meetings,
and dealing with their managers.
ManagementSpeak isn’t merely hilarious (although, if you can read it without breaking into the occasional
chuckle, chortle, or guffaw, you either have no sense of humor, are in a nasty mood, or have spent so many years in the executive ranks that ManagementSpeak
has become a natural part of your daily vocabulary). It’s a useful book. You can use it in business
meetings to help you interpret what’s being said. You can use it as an instruction manual – a sort of Berlitz® guide to business communication when you
have to get your own ideas across. You can even hold contests, competing with friends to see who can
spot the most examples used in the next meeting you and they attend.
Just be careful. If you do, and the facilitator sees you paging through your dog-eared copy of ManagementSpeak, he may become envious and confiscate it.
So play it safe: Buy three copies so you have some backups. It’s a good idea anyway, because if you order three or
more copies, postage and handling are free. Order Now
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