CHAPTER
8

Managementese

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One of my teams is facing a big, fat decision regarding future product direction, and the process has split the team in half: the Yes We Shoulds and the No Way in Hells. The manager of the team is facing a rebellion and spending much of his time trying to drive the team toward a decision.

I walked by his office and he was talking with one of the No Way in Hells, trying to influence them over to the other side of the fence. I overheard a blurb of his conversation, "I think it's a key decision and I'm asking you to think outside of the box . . ."

I cringed.

Management speak.

Walking back to my office, I thought about my negative reaction to the term "outside of the box." What does that actually mean? Well, it means something like "Don't restrict your thinking to conventional avenues," but that's not what your team hears when you say it. They hear, "Hi, I'm a manager, and as a manager I'm telling you that you should be creative without actually telling you how to be creative."