Guffipedia

Lucy Kellaway’s dictionary of business jargon and corporate nonsense
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Leadership above the rim

Translation into plain English Poetic guff

Perpetrator Orlando Ceaser, AstraZeneca

Usage example "I crave the competitive advantage/Born of the power of aligned actions/Around a strategic vision/That harnesses innovative thinking."

Lucy’s commentary From a shockingly original collection of poems by a manager-cum-poet who "shares them at team meetings and when his direct reports are promoted". These lines are a triumph: a linguistic tour de force. Who would have thought it possible to cram quite so many clichés and pieces of jargon into such a short space? Phrases such as "competitive advantage", "strategic vision" and "innovative thinking" are bad in prose, but in poetry their effect is traumatic. Poetry is about deft use of words. Business has a tin ear for language. Therefore the two do not go together.

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