Lesson Learned #12
In the early days of the company the founders had to figure out how to position the firm in the consulting market. They came from both strategy and operational backgrounds and from their experience felt there was an opening for a strategically oriented implementation firm. They believed the existing strategy consultants couldn’t implement their ideas very well and the productivity consultants were too focused on labor cost and not on total business profitability.
So they came up with what they thought was a brilliant slogan, “Strategic Productivity.”
They explained the meaning to one of their clients, a CEO of a fairly large transportation conglomerate, told him the slogan and then waited for his response. He thought about it for about two seconds and said, “I think you guys have taken two over-used words and created a meaningless phrase.”
He added some useful advice, “Avoid jargon. It doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” If something can be explained in a multitude of ways, it doesn’t mean anything. I could come up with five definitions of ‘strategic productivity.’ It just makes it sound like you are trying to impress someone. Think about what makes you appealing to potential clients and come up with a very simple slogan that says what you mean.” Somewhat bitterly thanking the CEO for the advice, the founders went back to the drawing board and eventually came up with the slogan that continues today as the company’s registered trademark, “Results Not Reports.”
The lesson learned was a powerful one and became adopted into the culture of the company. Any use of jargon in presentations or even casual discussions is frowned upon which, not surprisingly, is universally appreciated by clients at all levels.
