# Sure, but will we be shifting paradigms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757 "2007-10-31T18:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/1 "2007-10-31T18:49:27Z")
The firm for which I work has recently hired new leadership for our department, so of course that means – a New Vision! I think the goal in developing this Vision was to cram as many business-speak cliches in the most compact space possible without actually committing to any measureable actions. I swear, I am not making this up, our new vision contains a mere 59 words and contains the following words and phrases: - distinctive customer service - value-added, nimble orgainization - utilizing - committing to success - nurturing a supportive culture through servant leadership - driving win-win solutions Thanks boss! I think my responsibilities now are crystal clear! :rolleyes: Really, do these vision statements serve any purpose at all? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/2 "2007-10-31T18:51:27Z")
Oh c’mon. “Nimble” is good. Nimble beats hell out of the alternative. I think. What’s the opposite of “nimble”? ---
**Author:** ![A.I.Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@A.I.Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.I.Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/3 "2007-10-31T18:54:36Z")
Ponderous? “Servant leadership” sounds unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/4 "2007-10-31T18:55:42Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] What’s the opposite of “nimble”? [/QUOTE] Ridgid? ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/5 "2007-10-31T18:58:38Z")
Oh come on, it’s not _that_ bad. You just have to think outside the box. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/6 "2007-10-31T19:07:59Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] Oh come on, it’s not _that_ bad. You just have to think outside the box. [/QUOTE] And be proactive, while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/7 "2007-10-31T19:11:49Z")
Oh geez. I just have to ask though, were you all required to attend a two-day meeting offsite so that you could spend 9 hours a day _crafting_ that vision statement? Because that’s just more fun than than porn. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/8 "2007-10-31T19:16:01Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Woo] Oh geez. I just have to ask though, were you all required to attend a two-day meeting offsite so that you could spend 9 hours a day _crafting_ that vision statement? Because that’s just more fun than than porn. [/QUOTE] No, we were e-mailed a survey wherein we had to vote for our favorite vision statement. They were worded almost exactly the same, mind you; the only difference was that one was in single-paragraph format and one used bullet points. Bullet points, I tell you! As if someone would not vote for bullet points! Why, I even used them in my OP. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/9 "2007-10-31T19:18:13Z")
Once again, the real world proves to us that while _Dilbert_ might be satire, it isn’t exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/10 "2007-10-31T20:23:10Z")
Get out your synergy lever and do some go forward thinking and pry that summbitch over into the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Contrary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/db5fbb/32.png) [@Contrary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrary)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/11 "2007-10-31T20:38:20Z")
Hey shift happens. /obligatory groan The last company I worked at prior to striking out on my own, we had a new business development manager who was fond of saying that, and used in in articles he hoped would bring in new business. I personally thought that expression might just keep people away . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/12 "2007-10-31T20:38:25Z")
Will you be leveraging your core competencies at any point? Because that’s always fun. Leveraging or leverag **e** ing? I’m not sure. It’s always hard to spell fake words. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/13 "2007-10-31T20:46:20Z")
[QUOTE=Contrary] Hey shift happens. /obligatory groan The last company I worked at prior to striking out on my own, we had a new business development manager who was fond of saying that, and used in in articles he hoped would bring in new business. I personally thought that expression might just keep people away . . . . [/QUOTE] Jesus. If I encountered this guy in a business setting, I would have to reach out to him and staple his fucking eyelids to his eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/14 "2007-10-31T21:59:21Z")
But, but What’s the focus of scope. I can’t just start doing my job again willy-nilly without a defined focus of scope ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/15 "2007-10-31T22:10:53Z")
Jeez, just look it up in your skills matrix. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/16 "2007-10-31T22:27:02Z")
Our last CO was fond of “gang-tackling” and “Be Bold” and I’m not going to go into the joke of an award program that was born under his command. The big prize, the one we’re supposed to aspire to earn, is a plastic cup with a hokey logo on it. I saw the pics from the last awards ceremony - honestly, several of the awardees looked embarrassed to be standing there with their schmucky plastic cup. Shift \*that \* paradigm! ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/17 "2007-10-31T22:42:51Z")
nothing in there about embracing coopetition?!? Sadly this indicates your lunch is already eaten. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/18 "2007-10-31T22:42:57Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] Leveraging or leverag **e** ing? I’m not sure. It’s always hard to spell fake words. [/QUOTE] I’m just kicking the tires here and floating it into neutral space, but I think “leveraging” will play better with our stakeholders. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/19 "2007-11-01T02:00:38Z")
[QUOTE=FairyChatMom] Our last CO was fond of “gang-tackling” and “Be Bold” and I’m not going to go into the joke of an award program that was born under his command. The big prize, the one we’re supposed to aspire to earn, is a plastic cup with a hokey logo on it. I saw the pics from the last awards ceremony - honestly, several of the awardees looked embarrassed to be standing there with their schmucky plastic cup. Shift \*that \* paradigm! [/QUOTE] It is indeed suboptimal that the program did not fully incentivize\* you. I’m all for employee incentivizing. \*If you prefer, you may utilize the trendier “incent” here. As in, “we want to incent that behavior.” Feel free to go with whichever usage delivers the greatest value. [QUOTE=jjim] I’m just kicking the tires here and floating it into neutral space, but I think “leveraging” will play better with our stakeholders. [/quote] We better get their input first. It’s best if we’re all on the same page from Day One. We should aim for consistent terminology. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757/20 "2007-11-01T02:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Jeez, just look it up in your skills matrix. [/QUOTE] Will do. After I gather that data, we’ll schedule a knowledge transfer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-but-will-we-be-shifting-paradigms/424757.md?page=2)