In the Workplace: More than an Abbreviation

Three letter messages are mainstream in the workplace. We have moved from simple FTIs to more refined ones like LOL and TMI. The abbreviations now morph from a text message to headlines of presentations. One that is roaming around in text language really caught my eye. It is TL;NR. This is a shortcut to an important message: Too Long; Not Read. It is a brilliant addition to the language. As opposed to other new clipped responses like WTF, TL;NR is nuanced.

And it captures the tone of the workplace today. We are all running too fast for long memos and reports. What we want is a crisp message and if there are details, include a few bullets. Anything that is long will end up in the pile of "I will get to it someday." May as well call that the TL;NR stack.

(Rich Moran's In the Workplace series airs every Sunday on San Francisco's KCBS station 740 AM & 106.9 FM)

Progress? Or a sign of our vanishing ability to do meaningful analysis. If you pay attention, you'll see organizations repeatedly making the same mistakes. Much of this is driven by mistaking correlation for causality - something encouraged by bullet points and a TL;NR mindset. How about TS;PE (Too short. Poor Effort)

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Melanie W. Colbert, CPM?

Principal, Operations at LBA Realty

12 年

Love the message. Short, sweet & to the point.

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