The Words You Wear
New ideas, like fashion, have to start somewhere. When Jordan in Marketing lays down an energetic thirty minutes of incomprehensible marketing buzz-speak, I take a deep breath and attempt to hear his enthusiasm rather than his seemingly meaningless words. I remind myself of the time I walked to his office and threw down twenty minutes of arcane engineering reality and he gave me the benefit of the doubt. He clarified and we found a comfortable place to communicate.
After a very funny-because-it’s-true list of managementspeak translations, we get this little gem.
My career is built on being able to speak Management and Geek, and translate between the two. That paragraph there really rings true. It’s about hearing the enthusiasm (or distinct lack thereof) and achieving some common ground. This takes patience, respect, and the willingness to venture outside of one’s comfort zone for a little while. Without Management, Geeks fail. Without Geeks, Management fails.