The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches

Ranked #37 in Business & Work, #2,989 overall | Donates to Acumen Fund

It's about clarity

I remember learning new words and phrases by the barrelful in business school. As a business-book writer, I'm exposed to them all the time. Many of them are actually quite useful, because they give you precise words to describe things that would be difficult to communicate otherwise. For example, telling someone that a particular hedge fund is "highly leveraged" is a lot easier than saying, "They've borrowed a lot of money in order to speculate and multiply their positive returns using other people's money."

On the other hand, the vast majority of buzzwords exist for one reason: to hide. By obfuscating, lying, confusing or just plain avoiding the issue, business people can avoid communicating. Do you have the guts to stop using cliches? 

Here's my top ten. Add your own...

"Thinking outside of the box"

65 points

"win-win situation"

65 points

Giving 110%

48 points

Best Practices

38 points

"At the end of the day,..."

35 points

Paradigm Shift

35 points

Low-hanging fruit

34 points

"Synergy"

32 points

Going forward

32 points

Push the envelope

29 points

Web 2.0

27 points

"Value-added proposition"

23 points

The 80%-20% rule

23 points

"Paradigm"

22 points

Take it to the Next Level

22 points

"Maximize customer satisfaction"

21 points

core competency

21 points

Drop the ball

19 points

"A leading provider of..."

18 points

"Bring our 'A' game . . . "

18 points

Let's take this off-line

18 points

at the end of the day....

17 points

"Spending more time with my family"

16 points

seamless integration

16 points

Scalable

16 points

Best of Breed

16 points

Eco-anything

14 points

"Maximize leverage"

13 points

Brings a lot of value to the table

13 points

Robust

13 points

Let's hit the ground running.

13 points

24/7

13 points

Client-Centered

12 points

It is what it is

12 points

touch base

12 points

Drinking Kool-Aid

12 points

The bottom line

11 points

Manage expectations

11 points

Change Agent

11 points

Actionable

11 points

Multi task

11 points

In Today's Highly Competitive Marketplace ...

11 points

Strategic...

10 points

"offline"

10 points

"Impactful"

9 points

win-win

9 points

let's be proactive here people

9 points

ballpark figure

9 points

800 pound gorilla

9 points

The iPod of ___insert industry___

8 points

Six Sigma

8 points

"Marketing-driven"

7 points

Improve ROI

7 points

scalability

7 points

Next Generation

7 points

circle back

7 points

Out-Of-Pocket

7 points

proactive

7 points

It is what it is

7 points

Putting lipsitick on a pig

7 points

Going from good to great

6 points

Rightsizing

6 points

Teamwork

6 points

viral

6 points

step up to the plate

6 points

Has legs and can go really far...

6 points

Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater

6 points

I don't have the bandwidth

6 points

"Let's get granular"

5 points

User-experience

5 points

"Today, more than ever..."

5 points

Put a stake in the Ground

5 points

Focused on ... (i.e. results)

5 points

Perfect storm

5 points

The customer is always right

5 points

"Architect" used as a verb

5 points

Faster, Cheaper, Better

5 points

Now More Than Ever

5 points

When the rubber meets the road

5 points

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians

5 points

"Downsizing"

4 points

Industry Standard

4 points

Gotta raise the bar

4 points

net-net

4 points

integrated approach

4 points

Do no evil

4 points

game changer

4 points

The Elephant in the room (or the corner)

4 points

Yes AND no.

4 points

Work Life Balance

4 points

I'm not throwing him under the bus, but...

4 points

The take-aways

4 points

mission critical

4 points

open kimono

4 points

Headcount

4 points

Come to Jesus

4 points

Transparency

4 points

"A Plus for all Stakeholders"

3 points

"In the ... space"

3 points

Benchmark

3 points

Industry Leader

3 points

From a _____ standpoint

3 points

"New and Improved"

3 points

Thought Leader

3 points

Team player

3 points

Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes

3 points

Moving up the value chain

3 points

"Boots on the ground"

3 points

Polishing a Turd

3 points

the scenery only changes for the lead dog

3 points

________ on steroids

3 points

Upsell

3 points

Cast a wider net

3 points

Rubber hits the road

3 points

We'll make sure to revisit this

3 points

Like facebook but for _____

3 points

Ping

3 points

Corporate DNA

3 points

World Class

3 points

Let's take a deeper dive

3 points

When The Rubber Meets The Road..

3 points

Giving 111%

3 points

Resonate

3 points

Disruptive innovation

3 points

It's a no-brainer

3 points

Greed Is Good

3 points

SEO (to describe anything on the internet)

3 points

If you can't measure it, you can't control it

3 points

Put a face to the name

3 points

Herding cats

3 points

Transparent

3 points

It is what it is

3 points

"Quite frankly..."

2 points

"In terms of"

2 points

"We'll loop you in..."

2 points

User-Focused

2 points

sustainability

2 points

purple cow

2 points

my success is your success

2 points

I'll sharpen the pencil

2 points

I need to get flat with you

2 points

game changing

2 points

stick a fork in it.... its done

2 points

Data driven

2 points

Dynamic

2 points

Crossing the Chasm

2 points

Good to go

2 points

It's all good

2 points

Ramp-up

2 points

Loss Leader

2 points

Rigor

2 points

under the radar

2 points

let's be carbon neutral

2 points

Do you have any bandwidth?

2 points

Visionary (job title)

2 points

Our go-to-market strategy

2 points

Just my 2 cents

2 points

Level Playing Field

2 points

Points of Distraction

2 points

Ballpark figure

2 points

Blue Sky Thinking

2 points

SEO (to describe anything on the internet)

2 points

monetize

2 points

work around

2 points

Money talks and bull$#!^ walks

2 points

drinking from a firehose

2 points

The genie is out of the bottle

2 points

Team building

2 points

(We're getting some) push-back

2 points

Firing on all cylinders

2 points

We're getting the band back together

2 points

Next steps

2 points

Strategic

2 points

Functionality

2 points

(Getting some) traction

2 points

Reduction of force

2 points

Burn rate

2 points

Trending

2 points

(get on your) dance card

2 points

Get on your radar

2 points

Stealth

2 points

Better to apologize later than ask permission first

2 points

Business casual

2 points

Level set

2 points

The 8,000-foot view

2 points

From a high-level perspective,...

2 points

Move the Needle

2 points

The Glass Ceiling

2 points

Passing the Buck

2 points

Soup to Nuts

2 points

sooner rather than later

2 points

Multitasking

2 points

"Glitches" (instead of Mistake)

2 points

Fake it 'till You Make it

2 points

Getting all my Ducks in a row

2 points

Skate to where the puck is going

1 point

"organic" growth

1 point

Cost center

1 point

Like minded

1 point

Quick Wins

1 point

Shit Happens

1 point

Circle back around

1 point

USP

1 point

You have to spend money to make money.

1 point

Flexible solutions

1 point

Mindshare

1 point

Carrot and stick

1 point

Stay on message

1 point

Bring to the table

1 point

Under-promise and over-deliver

1 point

With all due respect

1 point

Let's make sure we're on the same page...

1 point

Let's drill down on this.

1 point

customer satisfaction

1 point

getting back to basics - block & tackle

1 point

Peel back the Onion

1 point

We need to wrap our heads around this

1 point

Time Management

1 point

Turnkey Solution

1 point

Business home internet make money

1 point

Burn rate

1 point

Cash cow

1 point

need to know basis

1 point

Happy Aquarium Secrets

1 point

http://bankvibe.com/credit-cards/

1 point

Probably The Best

1 point

Productivity Meeting

1 point

out of pocket

1 point

We've got to get our basic blocking and tackling down!

1 point

Pay per Head

1 point

Monday-morning quarterback

1 point

At least it's Friday....

1 point

Have a nice weekend!

1 point

Could be worse, could be a Monday.

1 point

It's the Trifecta, it's a Friday, it's a payday, AND it's a three day weekend!

1 point

"crickets" (as in uncomfortable silence)

1 point

Industrial diarhoea

1 point

turn key solutions

1 point

To be honest/frank/candid

1 point

Let's reboot.

1 point

Phone it in

1 point

Let's put it in the parking lot.

1 point

"Quality is job one"

0 points

"Robust and customer-focused"

0 points

Plug-and-Play

0 points

precision engineered

0 points

high performance

0 points

customizable

0 points

intelligent engineering

0 points

Disintermediation

0 points

Re-organization

0 points

Re-invented

0 points

Certified...

0 points

create something remarkable

0 points

1+1=3

0 points

Pull-through Sales

0 points

Tearing down the silos...

0 points

"if we have the courage of our convictions"

0 points

Robustize

0 points

This thing's going to happen

0 points

"Honestly..."

0 points

I appreciate your candor...

0 points

"Someone (who is) plug and play"

0 points

Monetize

0 points

Whatever it takes

0 points

My way or the highway

0 points

"Custom Engineered Solutions"

0 points

Pick it up and sit on it

0 points

On-Ramp

0 points

Off- Ramp

0 points

Noise in The System

0 points

Real Time Meeting

0 points

Ideation

0 points

business athlete

0 points

Integrated Marketing

0 points

Paving the cowpath

0 points

Feeding the hopper

0 points

x-Killer (i.e. iPod Killer like the Zune)

0 points

eat our own dog food

0 points

solutions

0 points

showstopper

0 points

the way forward

0 points

contemporize the portfolio

0 points

_______ manifesto

0 points

In the trenches with you...

0 points

Our people are our best asset

0 points

It's a birdnest on the ground

0 points

Directionally Correct

0 points

Everything is a matter of balance

0 points

Surface key learnings

0 points

Silo

0 points

For all your _____ needs.

0 points

Your ____ solution(s)

0 points

Lead the charge

0 points

"You are what you are"

0 points

Lets Trade Links

0 points

Shared Vision

0 points

Reach out

0 points

take one for the team

0 points

Never trust a Salesman

0 points

Healthy

0 points

We Have No Choice...

0 points

Everyone Is Doing It

0 points

I Heard It Thru The Grapevine...

0 points

Solution

0 points

Let's remember the rule of 212 degrees

0 points

Lets Do Lunch!

0 points

Hey, we're not here to boil the ocean.

0 points

Our Talk Track

0 points

Your Real Estate Agent For Life

0 points

Crowd-Sourcing

0 points

"Your life is a series of action. Actions are your steps to success." Oscar Jones Dambrit

0 points

Lessons will be learned

0 points

Stakeholder

0 points

We'll Fix It In 'Post'

0 points

Who Moved My Cheese?

0 points

Business needs

0 points

Divide and Conquer

0 points

There will be blood.

0 points

Lone ranger

0 points

Bells and whistles

0 points

Differentiate

0 points

On the _____ side,...

0 points

(I've got a) full plate

0 points

Step up to the plate

0 points

Razors and razorblades

0 points

Incentivize

0 points

Smile and dial

0 points

Eat your vegetables

0 points

Execute to plan

0 points

By way of housekeeping...

0 points

Bio break

0 points

Momentum

0 points

Eat what you kill

0 points

Cannibalize

0 points

Look the part

0 points

Up and to the right

0 points

Face time

0 points

Take him out behind the wood shed

0 points

Halo effect

0 points

Go off road

0 points

(He's gone) off the reservation

0 points

Color outside the lines

0 points

Shoot first, ask questions later

0 points

Ready, fire, aim

0 points

Tipping point

0 points

Long tail

0 points

Back of the envelope

0 points

Screw the pooch

0 points

(These customers need) hand holding

0 points

Chest thumping

0 points

Pound the table

0 points

Spray and pray

0 points

Hope is not a strategy

0 points

Carpet bombing

0 points

(We don't want to be) all things to all people

0 points

Time to market

0 points

Leave money on the table

0 points

Stick to your knitting

0 points

Built from the ground up

0 points

Re-Imagine

0 points

ground breaking

0 points

stae-of-the-art

0 points

No Achievement is Without Sacrifice. dc

0 points

Just for sh_ts & giggles.

0 points

Ya Think ?

0 points

You have to "care"

0 points

leverage resources

0 points

This moment in time

0 points

fat rabbit

0 points

Underemployed

0 points

Brick and Morter

0 points

Drink the company Kool-aid

0 points

Due Diligence

0 points

"Incent" as a verb

0 points

Skyrocket your profits

0 points

That's not all!

0 points

Block & Tackle

0 points

"geographical footprint" or footprint of any kind

0 points

it's a contact sport

0 points

it's part of our secret sauce

0 points

corporate entitlement

0 points

The best thing since sliced bread

0 points

exceeding expectations

0 points

we're going to build a Rolodex

0 points

professional buy process

0 points

marketing liftout

0 points

corporate entanglement

0 points

let's use this as our launchpad

0 points

Bleeding edge

0 points

The Customer is Always Right.

0 points

"One off" situations

0 points

Hindsight is 20/20

0 points

Apples to Apples

0 points

helicopter view

0 points

Synergize

0 points

"Oh, just google it.."

0 points

"blue sky thinking"

0 points

take a break

0 points

Run with this

0 points

'I'm trying to get an angle on this'

0 points

0 points

Test the water

0 points

the name of the game

0 points

This moment in time

0 points

cutting-edge

0 points

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

0 points

Ticks all the boxes

0 points

Teamness

0 points

Straw dog

0 points

Never ever give up - Keep on pushing forward

0 points

Exciting Changes

0 points

hockey stick

0 points

Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic

0 points

Expanding Possibilities

0 points

turn key solutions

0 points

To be honest/frank/candid

0 points

Let's reboot.

0 points

Phone it in

0 points

Let's put it in the parking lot.

0 points

Books on business language

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter's Guide by Brian Fugere

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter's Guide by Brian Fugere

Dull, verbose, evasive language that disguises emp more...2 points

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie

Creativity is crucial to business success. But too more...1 point

Great Stuff on Amazon

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Cliches for sale on eBay (go figure)

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by

sethgodin

Seth Godin is the bestselling author of 13 books. He writes about marketing, the spread of ideas and managing both customers and employees with respec... more »

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