Sit through any meeting or scroll through a PowerPoint deck, and you will be drowned in jargon that manages to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It fills the room and fills the pages. It also manages to say very little.
Somewhere along the climb up the corporate ladder, meaning seems to fall off. The higher the title, the thicker the fog. Annual reports, boardroom presentations and strategy sessions have become exercises in avoiding plain speech.
South African executives are no exception. They have perfected the art of sounding important while explaining almost nothing. If you do not get it, that is your problem.
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In the eighties and nineties, we already had our fair share of nonsense. We applied blue-sky thinking, came up with ballpark figures, remained proactive rather than reactive, and tapped into our knowledge base and core competencies, all to satisfy the budget. Then, we created win-win situations.
We focused on deliverables and promised next-level results. We politely asked that nobody move the goalposts. It was possible then, as it still is now, to say a great deal while committing to very little.
Many executives would rather wax lyrical about holism than offer two clear sentences about what the business is actually doing. Economist Dawie Roodt from the Efficient Group called it padding. He said jargon becomes a placeholder while you work out what you really want to say.
Because it is vague, you can later point back at it and claim you warned everyone. When in doubt, mumble. Psychologist Louisa Niehaus agreed.
She said colourful language is not new, but the stickiness of jargon has settled well into corporate culture. These phrases become fashionable. Everyone recognises them.
They sound impressive. They are also conveniently vague, which shifts the burden of interpretation onto the reader or listener. It becomes a safety net. If nobody is sure what was said, nobody can be held to it.
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