Run!!! When You Hear These Four Words

Hints and clues abound about any organization.  Sometimes you can tell a lot about a place by just looking at the office space or by what the social media activity looks like.  Other factors like what’s in the kitchen and who works at the place are important in forming perceptions of any organization. But the true nature of any organization is revealed in the words that are used to describe it. Most places use words like energetic, collegial, and dynamic to describe what it’s like to work there but that’s not enough. The key in understanding the true nature of a company is to know what words to look for. 

After reviewing hundreds of descriptions of organizations as seen in social media and evaluations of what it’s like to work there, I have boiled it all down to four words that say RED ALERT! Run Away As Fast As You Can! Here are the words:

• Toxic – When the word “TOXIC” comes up, it doesn’t matter the context, the phrasing, the interpretation of the word or any thing else –RUN! The adjective could be referring to the leadership, the culture, the food in the cafeteria or the receptionist in the lobby. It doesn’t matter; toxic is toxic and is not anything you want to be around. Toxic almost always refers to the culture of the organization or what it’s really like to work there.  Toxic is about bad bosses, stress, lack of teamwork, and worse. Run!
• Slow – Once again, it doesn’t matter what the word references. “Slow” could be referring to decision-making, the time to get products out, the hiring process, general responsiveness or the service in the cafeteria. It doesn’t matter. The environment today is one that doesn’t favor the slow. Unless the reference is about cooking, when you hear the word “slow” good things are not about to happen?
• Frat – “Frat” is short for fraternity and when the word comes up, it usually means undesirable behavior is around.  Belonging to a fraternity can be a good experience where a guy can learn about leadership, service and more. I know, I was a member of a fraternity. But when it comes to describing an organization, the word “frat” has come to mean boys acting badly and not a place that encourages women. When you hear the phrase “frat house culture”, run!
• Cheap – Paying attention to cost is one thing, being cheap is quite another. Cheap means compensation is poor and benefits are doled out in a stingy way. Cheap means you have to pay for your coffee in the break room. Cheap means you are expected to do way more than you should without pay. Cheap is a word that should make you wonder why anyone works there.

Of course, the opposite of these four words should make you run toward the organization. When words like generous, quick, responsive, nurturing, diverse, and thriving are used to describe an organization, it is probably a successful organization.  

Words matter, especially four that I know of.

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Richard is the author of the new book The Thing About Work: Showing Up and Other Important Matters [A Worker’s Manual]. You can follow his writing on Twitter, Facebook, or at his website at richardmoran.com.

Richard is a noted San Francisco based business leader, workplace pundit, bestselling author and venture capitalist.