Using a language that works

Jargon makes the business world go round

DANA SANCHEZ

Herald Staff Writer

After building one of the largest auto salvage businesses in U.S. history, Ron Sturgeon turned verbal nuggets gleaned from thousands of hours of business meetings into a reference guide.

His recently published book, "Green Weenies and Due Diligence," features 1,200 examples of business jargon. Some are outrageous, some hilarious and some plain scary.

For example, a "globasm" happens when a company's leader becomes fixated on expanding operations globally.

Sturgeon defines "a character building project" as a project that is almost certainly going to fail, but is assigned to someone who is being punished or needs a tough job in order to learn the ropes.

"Green weenies" is the term that started Sturgeon's word quest. In business lingo, it's an unpleasant surprise discovered late in the process of a business transaction. Kind of like a hot dog weenie left in the back of an unplugged fridge for six months.

The words and phrases used in the book are not commonly found in college textbooks, said Sturgeon, who made his fortune with a high school education.

Some local academics say business jargon is part of a living dictionary, its words sometimes made up spontaneously in meetings when people start planning a concept and don't know what to call it.

You can use it in any sequence or spelling as long as it gets the idea across, said George Cleaver, director of business programs at Manatee Community College.

The problem is, people often need an explanation. "These sayings are efficient but you've got to be in the circle to understand them in many circumstances," Cleaver said. "Ultimately, the purpose is to communicate with each other."

For example, the term "bear hug" would be highly familiar in the field of mergers and acquisitions, but unknown in the financial sector, according to Bob Anderson, dean of the College of Business at the University of South Florida. A "bear hug" means that stockholders are keen to accept a buyout offer with advantageous terms, according to the book.

Business jargon does find a way into Cleaver's college courses: He used the term "B2B" as a test question for students in a marketing class at MCC.

"Back when we were developing terms for the Internet, we came up with B2B," Cleaver said. "It means business-to-business. It's used in interoffice communication all the time."

Anderson sees business jargon as a kind of shorthand - one the general population may not necessarily need to know.

"It's one of those ongoing, living dictionaries," Anderson said. "My guess is that of the 1,200 words, the typical business person probably won't use more than 50 of them."

The book "Green Weenies" is divided into humorous and serious business jargon.

Some of the sayings put a new spin on tired phrases. Like "circling the drain," which is a lot like going down the tubes, as in a failing business.

"But even people familiar with 'going down the tubes' will wonder," Anderson said. "It gives the person who's saying it an edge in the conversation."

So how important is it to have an edge? "It's only important if you're the top dog," Anderson said. "Anything else is not impressive."

Sturgeon's first book of business jargon has already generated material for his next book. He has gathered 450 new terms from readers who have e-mailed him. The second time around, he won't have to sit through thousands of hours of meetings, Sturgeon said.

New expressions sent from the trenches include "stuffing Pandora's box," which happens when an organization has many needs and wrongly imagines that a single person can do it all.

The words he heard at meetings intrigued Sturgeon and inspired him to share them.

"I have a passion for business people in general, for how people limit themselves and screw things up," Sturgeon said. "Language is power. Often a humorous thing could disarm someone who might be combative."

Mike French, the Lynden, Wash., publisher of "Green Weenies," describes Sturgeon as having the Midas touch.

"He is very thorough. Just one of those pay-attention-to-details kind of guys," French said. "I don't think he could fail at anything."

Editor's Note: To test your jargon knowledge, we have devised a list of 10 business phrases above. Give us your best definitions or guesses. Send your responses to: Business Jargon, The Herald, 102 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL. 34205-8810 or jrich@heraldtoday.com by Friday, Jan. 13. The person with the most correct answers will have a feature written about them in The Herald. We also welcome any of your favorite business jargon!

Give us your best guesses of what these phrases mean:

1. Starter marriage 2. Wallpaper the meeting

3. Blue sky 4. Golden crumbs

5. Call 6. Call protection

7. Defenestrate

8. Helicopter skills

9. Circling the drain 10. Your baby is ugly

Send your responses to: Business Jargon, The Herald, 102 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL. 34205-8810 or jrich@herald today.com by Friday, Jan. 13. The person with the most correct answers will have a feature written about them in The Herald. We also welcome any of your favorite business jargon!

Know your jargon?