After a series of posts a bit technical, I had the urge to write one, lighter and tinged with humor.
I was in my car and the CEO of a company's CAC 40 was invited on the chain BFM radio Asked about the business of his company, he had this response: "we are recording negative growth less than our competitors' !!!!!
This answer was not without recalling a remark that I read recently in the 2009 annual report of another listed company: "if the first half ended with negative organic growth, the second half showed a nice turn of events ". Turnaround from a negative growth! Should understand that the second half showed a positive internal decay?
managerial rhetoric would seek it at all costs a language of performance? That is to say that language in which every event must be presented positively.
We've all read or heard this: "approximation we have just concluded with Company X is the result of an ambitious strategy that will allow us, leaning on our brands to become a major player market. This alliance creates value, was an opportunity to take our business to changing .... ".
You will notice a Décroissance becomes a "negative growth" a "strategy" is still "ambitious" the "brands" are inevitably "prestigious" a "actor" is necessarily 'inevitable' , the "opportunities" are obviously "to seize" and "business" undoubtedly "changing" .
was added systematically to the words and what Roland Barthes called adjectives of reinvigoration.
This sanitized language, composed of boilerplate phrases, is growing again when the need arises to soften the brutality of some life events of the company.
Thus, "takeover" is a "rapprochement" , we no longer speak of "creation of profit" but "value creation" a "restructuring" becomes a "focus on the heart of business" that we also anglicized as "refocusing on the core business" . a "plan termination" fades in "reenginering social" or "backup plan for employment" to and not more than "employees looking for work ' but of "talent search for new challenges" .
The language is still evolving when functions or professions need to change their image, we no longer speak of bosses but "entrepreneurs create jobs" the "management" becomes the "management" , the "shareholders" become "investors" the "advisor" is called "coach" and "advocate" is presented as "Board" .
The speeches of Presidents in the introduction to corporate annual reports differ little in their language and are often very conformist.
- The results are still poor, most of the time, justified by the environment and very rarely by an error of assessment or a lack of anticipation. Well be implicated "the difficult economic environment" , "increased raw material prices" , "environment Monetary unstable ", etc.. ...
- Positive results, however, are always assigned to the proper management of the group and its successful strategy. And it is still alluded to the environment it is only to put a little more dynamic values and the performance achieved by the organization.
Excerpts from annual reports of listed companies: (I will not mention names)
- "Another year of growth rapidly despite an unfavorable "X Company's 2003 Annual Report,
- " While growth in sales slowed in 2008, it remained a good (...) despite currency headwinds and commodity prices. (...) This performance reflects both the resilience of the group and management quality "X Company 2008 Annual Report.
Some companies still evolving towards greater creativity
- look at the 2008 Annual Report CEGID (and here I quote his name): "Crisis? A return to the entrepreneurial agility ", the term is found,
- go to the blog of Michel Edouard Leclerc " What I MEL ", the pun is very nice.
In this regard, Jeanne Bordeau, founder of the Institute for Quality of Expression, recommends that managers "find the world of color and words that characterize Business ».
The IBM was perfectly understood by practicing self-mockery. In its advertisement entitled bingo bla-bla " it rightly pins the many technical terms and other anglicisms too regularly used in business, and let's face it, by us first.
What do you think?
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