Thursday, July 17, 2014

Language Matters: Jargon Equals Death

So, here's the quote of the day:
Last week in my email to you I synthesized our strategic direction as a productivity and platform company. Having a clear focus is the start of the journey, not the end. The more difficult steps are creating the organization and culture to bring our ambitions to life. Today I’ll share more on how we’re moving forward. On July 22, during our public earnings call, I’ll share further specifics on where we are focusing our innovation investments. 
--Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in a memo with the subject line "Starting to Evolve Our Organization and Culture" on July 17, 2014 

That's the first paragraph of a memo sent to Microsoft staff early this morning. The second paragraph goes on to mention the 18,000 employees who are being severed from the corporate teat (it's reprinted in full HERE in this Wire article, "Slaughter at Microsoft as Tech Giant to Fire 14 Percent of Its Staff").

The moral: If someone in a suit starts talking about synthesizing the strategic direction of your office, start bringing cartons to work to clean the tchotchkes off your desk.

No comments: