Last Wednesday, I was in more meetings than not, so when it came to figuring out a good “wonky Wednesday post,” this article by Olga Khazan in The Atlantic resonated with me.
Basically, the article points out how much of the jargon is not only used in business and office settings a form of the office culture, but that it’s also, shall we say, an act.
Both from my background in theater and anthropology, I find that rituals and, frankly, cliched lines uttered at the office ring false.
One of the most interesting aspects of the article is that many of the main users of certain types of jargon find it to be, on at least one level, ridiculous. Yet they continue to use it. I suppose I need to go back and read up ethnographic appraisals about the power of “normal.”
In fact even business consultants can find it goes too far (though I wonder if they lose business because they’re not optimizing innovation).
I guess I’ll stick a pin in these thoughts and circle back at a future Wednesday.
