Jargon Goblin

Here are examples of ”strategies” listed by companies from various business publications:

"Become more profitable."

"Become number one in the market."

"Execute integration and capture synergies."

"Strengthen core business and reduce costs."

"We're trying to find the people that were customers and didn't come back. That's a major strategy."

Keep in mind that these strategies were not taken from movies like "Dumb and Dumber" or "Tommy Boy," but are from real companies, half of which are from the Fortune 500. I don't list these simply for amusement, although the last one still cracks me up. 

A primary cause of this confusion is the unwitting use of strategy jargon. Since strategy is an abstract term, it's challenging enough to define it without combining it with other words to make it that much more confusing. In my strategic training, planning and coaching work, I review hundreds of plans each year. I often see terms such as "Strategic goals" and "Strategic objectives" used. Why? Goals and objectives are different than strategies, so cramming them together into one term only serves to muddy the water. To refresh, the goal is generally what you are trying to achieve (e.g., Increase sales). The objective is specifically what you are trying to achieve (e.g., Increase sales by 15% in the east region by Q3, 2019). The strategy is how generally you will achieve the goal/objective (e.g., Develop a real-time service model to support top tier product users). Keep your plan simple by using the word, and only the word, that you mean. 

In the new business graphic novel, StrategyMan Vs. The Anti-Strategy Squad: Using Strategic Thinking to Defeat Bad Strategy and Save Your Plan, the villain that represents this issue is Jargon Goblin. Here are some tips to defeat the Jargon Goblin in your company:

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