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I took a job running HR at a fast growing tech firm. I noticed something right away. Everybody was nice and got along well but there were technology haves & have nots. Some people understood all the tech jargon flying around and other people didn’t understand a word, including me
No good, I said, and brought in a professor from a local university to teach workshops & bring everybody up to speed on our technology. The workshops were a big hit. After a few cycles I asked our exec team, what do your employees think about our tech-for-non-techies workshops?
They love them, they are great, they said. I noticed none of you guys have attended the workshops, I said. You probably don’t need them. No, we don’t need a workshop like that, they said. Well, I said, I will set up a special executive session just in case you want to go.
They all attended and they all took notes.
I made a glossary for new employees, explaining the hundred or so tech terms they were most likely to run into. It is horrible to start a new job and feel like people around you are speaking a language you will never understand
Language can make communication easier or make it harder. The use of jargon separate teams into insiders and outsiders. Never hesitate to ask what an unfamiliar term means. The worst thing to do is stay silent because you don’t want to admit you don’t know something
Remember the story about the emperor who had no clothes? One use of business jargon is to obscure naked flesh. In the story, it took a kid to point out the emperor’s naked state. Be that kid, whenever you get the chance
