Why Business People Speak Like Idiots

Nov. 27, 2005 – This book is awesome! I mean a must read even if you only read one business book a year. Recommended to me by Val August, it was a quick and easy read that was engaging and entertaining from the front cover to the acknowledgments. The three authors are all from Deloitte Consulting and they have designed “bullshit” detecting software to eliminate corporate double-speak from business communications. What a concept!

I was laughing out loud by page 7, which is always a bad sign for my kids. It means I will read to them aloud. Since my chair (the official chair which no one is supposed to sit in except me) is positioned strategically between the rest of the house and the refrigerator, they cannot escape this. Since it was a Sunday and there was a chocolate cake on the counter, my son heard lots of excerpts from this book. I’m sure the experience has enriched him.

In all honesty, I can say I recognized myself in the examples in this book, but I also recognized everybody I work with! This really should be mandatory reading for anyone who is issued a corporate email account, and certainly for those who make presentations to the rest of the company. It’s funny precisely because it is so real. They speak a lot about the need for authenticity, and the “voice” of this book is totally genuine in the best sense of the word. I was really knocked over when I kept seeing the phrase “Woo hoo!” throughout the book because I use that too. I liked both the style and substance.

An interesting quote that echoes the work of Scott McKain: “There are too many nice people with clear messages who fade into the din of business with no real impact because they didn’t realize they were in show business. Whether it’s writing or speaking, you’re an entertainer.” This quote is on the page right before the chapter entitled “Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll for Business People.” These three people know their subject and their audience.

One final side note is in the acknowledgments where they thank their book designer for “mercifully liberating us from our own self-imposed hell brought on by The Great Cover Debate.” It’s truly a brave new world when Design and Show Business are now an accepted part of our corporate vocabulary.