List of Business Cliches
According to the Cambridge online dictionary, a cliche is "a comment that is very often made and is therefore not original and not interesting." In other words, a cliche is a once-wise or witty remark that has lost its punch and effectiveness through overuse. According to online business coaching site BusinessTune-ups.com, "business cliches are common expressions that are easy to remember and sometimes used as simple rules for running a business."
Other People Are Reading
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Common
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Management and employees often use cliches to communicate their thinking. Cliches can be especially useful on social media where there is a limit on the number of characters. Examples include: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," meaning do not try to fix a business process that is functioning well; "think outside the box" or try new approaches to existing problems; "don't put all your eggs into one basket" means that a business should diversify its product and customer base; "the writing is on the wall" implies that a particular course of action or outcome is inevitable; and "a win-win situation" means that both parties benefit from a transaction.
Overused
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Advertisers have to churn out hundreds of concise text messages in support of their ads. Cliches help them get their points across quickly. Unfortunately, there are so many ads on so many different platforms that new ad copy is harder to find. This means the same cliches are being used over and over again, rendering them ineffective over time. Examples include: "But wait: order now and you also receive"; "as seen on TV"; "limited time offer, so act now"; and "wait, there's more."
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Confusing
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People rely on cliches because they are sometimes true. However, replace them with more concise and effective alternatives if cliches are being used as crutches. For example, instead of saying "going forward," be more specific and say "next month" or "now"; replace "blue sky strategy" with "innovative strategy," "incentivize" with "encourage" and "low hanging fruit" with "win"; use "ultimately" or "finally" instead of "at the end of the day"; and avoid saying "with all due respect" because it almost always means the opposite -- make your point directly and save everybody the time.
Changed Meaning
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Some expressions lose their original meaning and context when they become business cliches, according to "The Economist" magazine's "Johnson" blog on the use of language. For example, the expression "reach out" in business often means "contact" or "talk to," which is different from the original meaning of making an extra effort to communicate with someone outside of a normal circle of contacts. Other examples include "take a deep dive" and "drill down," which, in the business world, mean pouring through numbers and spreadsheets. However, they convey the imagery of an athletic or labor-intensive activity perhaps, as "The Economist" suggests, "to romanticize to yourself what is otherwise a soul-deadening activity."
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References
- Photo Credit business is business - cliche image by Jeffrey Zalesny from Fotolia.com
