Forget ‘disrupting the universe’: Why companies need constructive aspirations, not corporate bakwaas

Every company is built on aspirations, of which there are two kinds. One, constructive aspirations (CAS): noble dreams of building better products, happier customers and fewer lawsuits, and following it up with sleeves-rolled-up work. Two, bakwaas aspirations (BAS): grandiose nonsense of 'disrupting the universe', 'reinventing synergy', and shutting one's eyes tight and praying that this alone will get the work done.

CAS are practical, achievable and mostly useful. They involve things like improving logistics, reducing costs or making sure the office Wi-Fi works. BAS, by contrast, are PPT hallucinations that sound impressive, but disintegrate under the cold glare of real action, or the lack thereof.

The danger is that BAS are often made to masquerade as CAS. They come wrapped in slogans, sprinkled with buzzwords, and are presented as acronyms that everyone L.U.R.R.V.S. Spotting them requires testing and putting one's shoulder to the wheel - which can be such a bore compared to making tall promises.


The tragedy is that BAS, more often than not, gets the applause, while CAS gets a 'meh' for the grunt work. The wise company learns to cherish the dull, constructive aspiration over the dazzling bakwaas one. For, in the end, civilisation - and each quarter - advances not by promising to spread greatness but by fixing the photocopy machine.