John McIntyre of You Don't Say reveals what's really meant by "grow the business," a phrase that sets certain sets of teeth on edge:
Grow the business, like all cant phrases, does have a meaning, but it’s not the ostensible one. It is a signal for people who sit in meetings and write memos. It is like the secret handshake or the foot-tapping on the floor of the men’s room stall; it signals I am one of you, and, having accomplished that, it need carry no further freight.
See also the observations of Editrix and Words to the Wise.
In related news, Mr. Verb answers a reader's question about another bit of corpspeak, to consense.
This discussion (duly commented up on at You Don't Say) brings out the Arnold Zwicky in me, which is to say, show me the numbers. In this case, show me the legions of confused readers who are purportedly (per Words to the Wise) "shut out." If Google is getting 3 million hits on "grow a business," this no longer qualifies as the in-speak of the corporate drone.
Posted by: mike | June 16, 2008 at 02:47 PM