I think mentioning “consulting buzzwords” is already causing major eye rolls. But you should stay.
I had a funny realization about the slight shudder that runs down the back of people when they hear “consultants”. It’s hilarious really.
The purpose of writing this came from a “disclaimer” I made when introducing a project I was recently working on. I had heard that disclaimer about the big consulting firms quite a number of times over the past two years and I always thought it interesting. I was beyond shocked that somewhere in my mind, I had internalised this or for some reason found it useful to toe that line in my own speech. Why? Je ne sais pas. Perhaps as a way to sound on brand?
It felt like I threw someone under the bus to “look good”. It was very weird. What was surprising was how easily I did it, too…
This instance made me question the thoughts I allow to sit in my mind and how easily I internalise things – and by extension, how others did.
But that’s not really news, is it?
Post Map
The brain is weird – and it needs to be taught
If you follow someone like Tom Bilyeu, such a thing won’t shock you as much. He, like a few others, have explored how the brain processes information, develops pathways, compartmentalizes, and (re)acts in certain circumstances – and why.
In this instance, I realised that telling myself “that phrasing is so interesting” was not enough for the filing cabinet of my brain. I did not categorically tell the brain how to process that information.
The thing about the brain is that it mops up a lot and it is up to you to take a stance on what filters up to it.
You need to consciously help it figure out where and how to file things. For example, “This is interesting!” but is it good interesting or bad interesting – and what do we do with this?
I wish I had the words to say this as I feel it, but I will settle on this now.
Why we are really here today – consulting buzzwords
Anyway, I got to thinking about the language that consultants often throw about and came up with a fun way to share them. I imagine these are the kinds of phrases that run amock in the LinkedIn world and in the endless cover letter examples that have, on one occasion or the other, bamboozled us all. I hope you enjoy it!
PS: It might work well if you print it out!
A puzzle on consulting buzzwords
Noellewonders.com
The consulting buzzword(s) bank: the good, the bad and the facetious
| Buy-in | Concept | Action items |
| KPI | Incremental | Word of mouth |
| Deck | Organization | Harvard |
| Deliverable | Incentives | Michael Porter |
| Engagement | Parallel | Takeaway |
| Contingency | Optimal | Responsive |
| Balanced | Leverage | ROI |
| Integrated | Loyalty | Scalable |
| Timeframe | Recommendations | Communication |
| Flexibility | Mutually Exclusive | Automate |
| Options | EOD | Opportunity cost |
| Capability | Value proposition | Systems |
| Reach | Customer experience | Software |
| Objectives | Focus group |
How did you do finding these consulting buzzwords?
When you are done, check out some of the other random thoughts I have on this blog! I would love to hear from you.
Noelle Wonders
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