What do you think of "Managementspeak"?

[sparker]

Back at the end of 2008, the logistics company I was working for (since early '03) was acquired by another firm after the original owner (the guy who hired me!) had major surgery and decided to retire & sell the company.  The new owner, whose existing business revolved around same-day courier service, started visiting all the branches with some of his company's upper management -- none of whom had ever worked in the logistics field.  They got to the branch I managed, in Ontario, the first week of 2009 -- and the corporate cliches just popped out of their mouths nonstop!   The bullshit was relentless -- such questions as "Where do you envision yourself within our corporate strategy?" or "We appreciate all the effort you've put into getting this branch to run smoothly, but we're reevaluating the whole concept of non-centralized branch operation".  At that time, I started implementing an exit strategy.  By March 2009 all my staff -- except one delivery coordinator -- had been reassigned out of the office into either the new company HQ or the field;  by May all the original HQ management had left or been demoted, and the branch managers replaced by the new owners' more senior courier drivers or dispatchers.  New owner was, in essence, cleaning house of pretty much every significant employee of my original firm.   Luckily, I had managed to get a Census Bureau supervisorial position in hand (I held a similar position in 1989-90 during my early grad school years), so when the axe fell on me over the Memorial Day weekend, I only had 2 weeks of "downtime" (helped by 27 days of accumulated vacation pay!) before starting the C.B. job.  Of course, working for the Bureau brought with it its own particular form of "management-speak", but at least it was familiar enough to functionally ignore! 

I received notice in mid-2010 that my former employer had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that I was included in a class-action lawsuit claiming widespread wrongful termination, an action taken by my former immediate supervisor.  Two years later I got a check for a whopping $975, accompanied by a notification that Chapter 11 had turned into Chapter 7!  I almost showed up at the HQ liquidation sale with check in hand to see if I could get one of their Nikon printers dirt cheap, but decided it wasn't worth the gas to drive from Hesperia down to Orange County!  I've always wondered if there's some sort of cover-your-ass corporate terminology for "we screwed up and in the process screwed over our own people"?       

[kkt]

I received notice in mid-2010 that my former employer had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy,

So funny and sad when that happens.  If the new owner didn't want any of the know-how from the company they took over, why in the heck did they buy it?

[sparker]

Because he was an idiot whose business base (running a courier service specializing in real-estate escrow and closing documents) was going south with the 2007-2011 housing crisis, and who thought he could make a quick buck getting into the logistics business -- but didn't realize that such a business required competent managers and a certain level of infrastructure, both of which required an outlay of $$.  He thought he could retrain his couriers and dispatchers to replace the office and branch management of the original company -- and tried to do precisely that -- but in the process pissed off most of the clients (Cisco, Fujitsu, Isilon, and several other B-to-B server maintainers) when schedules collapsed and merchandise simply disappeared in the shuffle!  But he was a self-described "self-made man" who thought he could plow through unknown territory on the cheap!  Unfortunately for all his remaining employees, his rude awakening came with the consequences of corporate collapse.   

[empirestate]

logistics company

Isn't that, right there, pretty much a made-up industry, in the same vein as management-speak? No wonder you had the experience you did!



iPhone

[sparker]

Not necessarily -- the company's business was to run a series of regional warehouses stocking service parts for various firms (some mentioned in my previous thread post) and to maintain a pool of "route drivers" to deliver those parts locally, plus using standardized delivery services (mostly FedEx, but occasionally DHL and UPS as well) to transfer parts as needed to other warehouses elsewhere.  In addition, technicians from the client firms would drop by, work order in hand, to pick up items they needed for a particular work order.  Inventory was controlled by a 3rd party company based in Minnesota; everything (the Ontario warehouse I managed stocked over 40K items, ranging from small flash drives to palletized mainframes as large as storage sheds!) was contained within a "master list" that was updated on our computers daily.  Our company had the franchise in Southern California, maintaining warehouses in San Diego, Ontario, and Torrance, plus a small stocking warehouse at corporate HQ in Irvine.  Logistics was not simply another vague form of "managementspeak"; it was an overall term for the "just-in-time" supply aspect of the business.  The third-party inventory-control company made me a job offer after I left the "new" firm, but it would have required a move to their southern regional center in Lynchburg, MS (just south of Memphis, TN).  As much as I wanted to be near I-22 when the shields went up (yeah, right!), leaving the West Coast, my GF, and my friends & family just wasn't in the cards.  Besides, that particular company had their own peculiar form of communication and "managementspeak", plus a tendency to believe that their computerized inventory program was infallible (it wasn't!), so it wouldn't have been much of a fit.   

[vdeane]

Sounds like he may have also been trying to knock out a competitor.

[sparker]

He did entertain ideas of taking over the next franchise territory, which included the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, and Ventura/Santa Barbara counties; but his ineptitude at managing what he had precluded such plans.  He probably knew how to manage a same-day local courier service with reasonable skill -- and likely did very well during the housing boom of the early 2000's -- but when his customer base dropped off the map, he was scrambling to find replacement income.  But he ended up dismissing those of us who had acquired the skill set to run a logistic/distribution operation -- he laid us off, one branch at a time, without even asking us to train our replacements!  Unfortunately, that takes more in the way of brass cojones than brainpower!  May the company R.I.P.!

[empirestate]

Not necessarily -- the company's business was to run a series of regional warehouses stocking service parts for various firms (some mentioned in my previous thread post) and to maintain a pool of "route drivers" to deliver those parts locally, plus using standardized delivery services (mostly FedEx, but occasionally DHL and UPS as well) to transfer parts as needed to other warehouses elsewhere.

Yeah, but wouldn't that just be called a "delivery company"? Or a warehouse/supply firm? I'd never heard of a "logistics company" until quite recently, just as I'd never heard of a company selling "solutions"–it always used to just be a "product" or "service".



iPhone

[sparker]

You know companies -- a term begins being utilized in a particular field, and it catches on and finds usage by many companies in the field.  Well before I started working for them in 2003, their original name included the term "messenger service" (and, no, David Freiberg wasn't their lead singer!); the "logistics" terminology had been in use since about 1998 or so -- and according to  the co-owner of the original company, the term "logistics" had been suggested by the MN-based inventory control company, who apparently wanted their operating partners to use a common terminology.  I was hired to do a job, not argue semantics (not that I would have done so in any case).  They called themselves a logistics company, and they paid me reasonably well.  Period. 

[empirestate]

I was hired to do a job, not argue semantics (not that I would have done so in any case).  They called themselves a logistics company, and they paid me reasonably well.  Period. 

It's okay if your job description didn't include wondering why they were called that–if you're still unsure, I certainly won't see that as a professional failure on your part! :-)

Having looked more into it, it seems the term "logistics" has military origins and was later applied to civilian business, to refer to the planning and movement of goods (usually, though sometimes information or other intangible properties). It looks like it's been in use that way for a while, so perhaps it's only through recent marketing and branding intiatives (how's that for management-speak?) that the word was used in a public context. Prior to that, perhaps it was more of an industry-specific term for itself? It certainly wouldn't be the first time that an industry's jargon became "publicized", either intentionally as a way of embellishing the importance of the industry, or just accidentally because of some happenstance of exposure. (Hanging chads, anyone?)

Or, maybe, for whatever reason, the term has been in both public and internal use for many decades, and I was simply never exposed to it; just because I didn't see it happen, doesn't mean it didn't. Does anybody else have any thoughts on this?

[GCrites]

This isn't comprehensive, but I'm going to list a few reasons people start and own their own businesses:

Bad reasons:

"I want to be my own boss." - If you can't get along with and respect authority figures, you're going to have a terrible time with customers, clients and employees.

Egos - Does owning your own business stroke your ego? It's really going to suck when times are hard... and they will be if you start a business to feel like a badass.

To control people - Lord, you're not going to be in full control of them all the time. Have fun micromanaging.

Because you really like the product - This one is dangerous because people who are really into the product often have strong belief systems associated with the product that can limit their success. Too much passion can make business owners make the wrong investments at the wrong times.


Good reasons:

Because you had to - When you have no choice, you'll do what it takes to survive. It also makes you willing to learn and forces you to listen to inputs from others.

To make a lot of money - This is actually a good one for the same reasons as "Because you had to". But if you're screwing people in order to make a lot of money, you aren't going to last very long.

Because you found out you are good at it - Being good at it and having a natural talent is a gift that lets you focus on improving the parts of the business that you aren't as good at yet.



I've learned these things in 6-1/2 years in business for myself, several years of working at other small businesses, observing other businesses and through my past education.

[steviep24]

Managementspeak roads.

Synergy Dr.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1520155,-77.7323677,3a,15y,209.02h,91.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgXB2k8etili2Mw0AUX3RaA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Initiative Dr.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1474442,-77.7323967,3a,15y,313.4h,90.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgakfxHI4Eb5jRtvYrGa55Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Innovation Way
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1430518,-77.7362767,3a,15y,26.38h,87.16t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCQYvlZ5ChltFSoC3WxuOnA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

The complex where these are also has a Creative Dr. but apparently the Google car wasn't allowed in the complex.

[SSOWorld]

Managementspeak roads.

Synergy Dr.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1520155,-77.7323677,3a,15y,209.02h,91.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgXB2k8etili2Mw0AUX3RaA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Initiative Dr.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1474442,-77.7323967,3a,15y,313.4h,90.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgakfxHI4Eb5jRtvYrGa55Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Innovation Way
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1430518,-77.7362767,3a,15y,26.38h,87.16t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCQYvlZ5ChltFSoC3WxuOnA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

The complex where these are also has a Creative Dr. but apparently the Google car wasn't allowed in the complex.

Business and Industrial parks are repleat with these innovative names for enticing roads.

Means Drive
Keystone Parkway
Progressive Parkway
Insight Drive

[tckma]

Managementspeak roads.

Business and Industrial parks are replete (FTFY) with these innovative names for enticing roads.

Means Drive
Keystone Parkway
Progressive Parkway
Insight Drive

1, 2
Enterprise Street
Venture Way
Competitive Goals Drive
Wise Pursuit Way
Adam Smith Drive
New Expansion Drive
Energetic Endeavor Drive

[Buffaboy]

logistics company

Isn't that, right there, pretty much a made-up industry, in the same vein as management-speak? No wonder you had the experience you did!



iPhone

Actually I work for a subsidiary of a major logistics company, but I really don't hear many of these buzzwords from the supervisors. They the to abide by the KISS possible whenever possible. Sometimes too much.

I don't know what industries DO utilize these words the most.

[texaskdog]

Can we take this offline and touch base later?

Somebody just came by with a new one and dangit I forgot it.  Wish I could remember!!

[texaskdog]

Can you get a point for someone giving a powerpoint presentation that would have been a whole lot better without the powerpoint?

[kkt]

Can you get a point for someone giving a powerpoint presentation that would have been a whole lot better without the powerpoint?

No, that would make it too easy to get points.

[empirestate]

logistics company

Isn't that, right there, pretty much a made-up industry, in the same vein as management-speak? No wonder you had the experience you did!



iPhone

Actually I work for a subsidiary of a major logistics company, but I really don't hear many of these buzzwords from the supervisors. They the to abide by the KISS possible whenever possible. Sometimes too much.

I don't know what industries DO utilize these words the most.

Well, any industry has its share of jargon; mine certainly has a huge amount! Corporate-style jargon is relatively rare, but there are some elements of it that crop up fairly regularly, as they seem to have entered the public vernacular.

But I was really asking whether the term "logistics company" is itself an example of jargon–in other words, is that a term that the logistics industry self-applies to its business, whereas a layperson would call it by some other common term, such as "shipping", "warehousing", "inventory" or even "supply chain management"?


iPhone

[Scott5114]

Can you get a point for someone giving a powerpoint presentation that would have been a whole lot better without the powerpoint?

Or worse, a PowerPoint where they just read the slides word-for-word. You could have just emailed me the slideshow and saved me the time.

[texaskdog]

Can you get a point for someone giving a powerpoint presentation that would have been a whole lot better without the powerpoint?

Or worse, a PowerPoint where they just read the slides word-for-word. You could have just emailed me the slideshow and saved me the time.

Yes.  People are even doing that in my Toastmaster clubs.

[Scott5114]

I would think that Toastmasters would call them out on it–that seems to be the sort of thing Toastmasters is supposed to teach, isn't it?

[texaskdog]

I would think that Toastmasters would call them out on it—that seems to be the sort of thing Toastmasters is supposed to teach, isn't it?

Oh you better believe it.  Any time I'm the evaluator I really ride them about it.

Also the district is obsessed with "lessons learned" after every event which I said was a condescending term not realizing it was management speak.

[freebrickproductions]

What are Toastmasters?

[SSOWorld]

What are Toastmasters?

Club focused on public speaking/leadership/communications.

http://bfy.tw/7DXE