Forget "out of the box" and "walk the talk" (please forget them, please!). According to Anil Dash, the new phrases you might hear at meetings are more common now among the Sesame Street set:
- There's lots of business books that say we should learn from the wisdom of children, and I completely agree. During meetings, you may find the following two phrases useful.
"Not it!" This is good for shirking responsibility. Sample usage:
Big Boss: "We need to see a report summarizing this quarter's trends in the follow geographic regions..."
You: "Not it!"
"Shotgun!" Similarly, you may wish to express strong agreement with a sentiment, or that you're willing to go along with a suggestion that's been made. You're along for the ride.
HR Director: "We are strongly advocating that casual Fridays be extended to accommodate employees who elect to go pantsless."
You: "Shotgun!"
I don't have kids, so I don't know what the latest buzzwords are, but I'm going to try these at our next editorial meeting. If I don't get fired, I'll let you know how it goes.
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