Secret code of official communication

It is not unusual for senior managements to touch base with the junior talent, not for any Jesus moment but just to get all their ducks in a row. Often, it is not only about bringing everyone on board, cascading information or highlighting lowhanging fruit but also pushing the envelope, pinpointing leverages that can be used to optimise penetration, push growth potential and increase deliverables across platforms.

Of course, it can also become an occasion for blue-sky thinking, running ideas up the flagpole fast, or just peeling the onion, getting a helicopter view and unpacking issues so that no one drops the ball. Idea showers that can upscale market diversity going forward, maximise upstream stratcom and foster organic growth without paralysis by analysis is the goal. If, as a result, they open the kimono and push the strategic staircase, at least some ideas will be put on record to see who dances.

All this is crystal clear to those who have mastered the weirdly wonderful world of corporate jargon. However, as a bunch of schoolgoers recently demonstrated in the UK, it is all but gobbledygook to those who know only plain English. That jargon persists despite sage advice from various quarters to keep it simple begs the thought whether the intention is to actually keep intra-corporate communication coded.