The business buzzwords update – part two

6 minute read

In April we published an article on business buzzwords. Not the ‘touching base’, ‘mood music’ and ‘it’s a bit of a unicorn’ kind that most business people wish they could embargo from the boardroom, but the topical terms that were actually impacting in-house innovation and productivity at the time.

Back in the first quarter of the year, phrases like WEconomy, Blue Ocean Strategy and Story-selling were making an impact on company culture.

A quick recap:

• WEconomy: developed by Richard Branson’s daughter Holly, the WEconomy concept suggests that businesses should not think of themselves in silos but as part of the wider world. It advocates that business owners should consider the environment and factors such as social welfare in the interest of the greater good.

• Blue Ocean Strategy: essentially a blue ocean strategy suggests that businesses should zig where others zag and grow business opportunities by going down the less competitive route.

• Story-selling: building on storytelling, story-selling suggests businesses need to make their stories work harder. Tips for how to do this are included in the original tsoHost blog.

A good few months on and there’s a new lot of lingo to consider.

Below is part two of our round-up of buzzwords that are making their mark on the business world right now.

Visiting tsoHost because you’re more interested in terms like web hosting, domains and virtual private servers? Head to our product pages via the links to find out about our powerful packages.

Figureoutable

According to entrepreneur and philanthropist Marie Forleo, “Everything is Figureoutable is more than just a fun phrase to say”.

In her book, Everything is Figureoutable, released in September 2019, Forleo explains that it’s not a lack of skill or resources that often stops individuals and businesses from taking action, it’s a mindset.

This mindset makes questions like ‘Yes, but how do we do that?’ and ‘How do we find the right people?’ the final destination for many people. When they don’t see an immediate answer, they find it easier to give up and move on than continue to strive to solve it.

The book implies that the first step to tackling any problem is to resolve that it can be figured out no matter what, and then just carry on with finding the solution rather than worrying that it can’t be found.

Forleo uses the example of her mum, who would decide a job like retiling the bathroom needed doing and then just set about doing it, regardless of a lack of skills or experience. Every time her mum took this approach to a task, she would succeed.

Forleo suggests that by taking on an ‘everything is figureoutable’ mindset, people are 42 per cent more likely to achieve their goals.

Forleo sums up: “Everything is Figureoutable, shows you how to tap your inborn wisdom and make the difference you were born to make.”

Frustration

Derived from Latin in the mid-16th century and increasingly used from the early 1900s onwards, frustration – as a word – is nothing new.

What is new, is the context in which it’s being used. In 2019, the word has been flipped from a negative one to a positive one.

Richard Branson has been at the vanguard of this turning of the word on its head.

In a recent blog, the entrepreneur wrote: “I’ve been thinking about what really drives people to start brilliant businesses. It’s surprising – or maybe not – how regularly the reasons have a lot in common. It is often about being frustrated by something.”

So how do you use frustration in the encouraging, optimistic Branson-sense.

The first step is to quickly knock any feelings of disappointment on their head when you experience them in business. Psychologists suggest two main tips for overcoming the emotion of disappointment:

• Set a time limit: give yourself an hour for the feeling of disappointment to play out in your body and mind and then resolve to move on.

• Don’t think about the what-ifs. If they start creeping into your mind, distract yourself. Whether that’s through another work-related task or something more personal like a gym session or completing a crossword.

The next step is to reframe obstacles as opportunities. Explore contingencies as if they were an alternative route to the same goal rather than a tangent. And don’t run away from setbacks; see them as opportunities to learn or to create something new.

Adapting your mindset to this way of thinking may feel odd at first. However, as Branson says: “Whatever you are doing in life, running a race, starting a business – anything – use your frustrations as inspirations and you will have more chance of success and have a lot of fun along the way.”

Love

Everyone knows the phrase ‘business is business’ and how it implies that there’s no room for feelings when making money is concerned. However, a new book by leadership expert Steve Farber, released in September, begs to differ.

The premise of the book ‘Love is Just Damn Good Business: Do What You Love in the Service of People Who Love What You Do’ is that love has real power in the corporate realm.

Farber explains: “When love is part of an organization’s framework and operationalized in its culture, employees and customers feel genuinely valued.

“Employees who are passionate about the work that they do don’t serve others out of obligation, but because of a genuine desire to improve people’s lives. And when customers reciprocate by loving your products, your services, and your people, that’s when something great happens.”

Of course, building a little extra love into company culture doesn’t have to mean that the CEO hands out hugs at the office entrance every morning.

Love can be built with techniques like storytelling, loyalty programmes, offering the right employee perks and better communication – all of which we’ve written about on the tsoHost blog in recent weeks.