Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Pierre B. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:29:37 GMT

Does Microsoft also has an internal web library of PG-13 materials?

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

mvadu — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:34:39 GMT

What is your carrier goal Ray... With out these wording you will not reach next levels.. I am not sure of Microsoft though, if a senior manager without any of these fancy sentences, survives with only his technical knowledge.

Reminds me of a Senior Manager of Microsoft (Vista SP1 team) whom I contacted for an issue I faced after installing Vista after MS Support closed the case as unresolved. I was expecting some sort of technical suggestions or at least a will to ask for my system details where the issue occurred, instead he spent time to search tigerdirect.com suggesting how I can use 20$ USB HDD enclosure to backup my HDD in different machine and going for entire 160GB wipeout. Ofcourse he used similar wordings.. very fancy..

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

ScottB — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:03:15 GMT

The two purposes might be different: #1 could mean that they're going to have some documents with text that say things like "write code clearly", and #2 could be a code repository.

That said, it'd be a lot easier to tell whether they're different if they had decided not to obfuscate.

No MBA for you, buster!

George — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:08:40 GMT

I guess there is write-only prose just as there is write-only code.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

MrM — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:30:33 GMT

I often wonder if the people that write this stuff read this blog, and feel suitably embarrassed, or knock on Raymond's door.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

jcoehoorn — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:41:00 GMT

In their defense, there are 2 separate goals:

1) Be a library of X materials.

2) That people actually use said library. Otherwise, how can it promote best practices, re-use of material, consistent look and feel, yada yada yada

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Spike — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:44:01 GMT

My manager asked me "Have you thought about project X?"

I replied "Yes, I've written down the things I think we need to do, here they are."

In a later meeting he said regarding project X "We've come up with a seven point action plan."

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

llangit — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:19:38 GMT

To quote more accurate Microspeak, you must also include the extraordinary number of internal acronyms to which we are subjected, i.e "Create a reference source (best practices) where TSPs,SSPs,PAMs or PSAs who are engaged with our EPG or SMS&P teams can learn how to plan/facilitate and leverage their X activities around the WSSMM vision documents most effectively."

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

James L — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:36:17 GMT

I concur. Life is too short for this nonsense.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

MadQ — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:40:55 GMT

@ScottB: "obfuscate" is a geek-speak word that is "utilized" way too often. Whatever happened to good old "obscure"? The latter is only ever used to explain what former means. Of course, it's not quite as bad as the adjective form: "obfuscatory". Sorry for being obtuse.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Anon — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:06:11 GMT

I interviewed for a somewhat interesting team in Microsoft. What turned me off was the obvious waste of money going into management. I was offered two positions, but chose neither.

Microsoft needs to get back to being developer focused. All these frickin managers are going to drive you into the ground.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

AC — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:16:53 GMT

>I hate management-speak.

Probably like everybody else who has read something like that. Your example makes me cringe.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Neil (SM) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:27:05 GMT

I guess Strunk & White isn't near the top of the required reading list at many business schools.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Mike Dunn — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:34:02 GMT

My current favorite (and by that I mean, not favorite) management-speak is "the cloud." It's that thing we used to call "the Internet."

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

James — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:38:25 GMT

Haha, too true.

It's worse if they've ever gone for NLP training though. Because now they have a set of "tools" to expedite "outcomes" that are "win-win".

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Daniel Colascione — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:03:42 GMT

mvadu, your comment disturbs me, though I think it's correct.

Why should we need to obfuscate language to be promoted based on technical merit? The world would be a much better place if it were a true meritocracy.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

David Walker — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:08:24 GMT

I HATE, HATE, HATE the word "utilize". What is wrong with "use"? (Yooze, not Yooss).

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Daniel Colascione — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:13:52 GMT

MadQ, "obfuscate" and "obscure" have different connotations for me. To "obfuscate" to something is to make something complex while leaving it in plain sight. To "obscure" something is to disguise it, to make it blend into the background.

Or, obfuscate is to obscure as encryption is stenography.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Alexandre Grigoriev — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:14:42 GMT

Be grateful the website wasn't titled "Heroes Happen Here".

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Ken Hagan — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:47:06 GMT

On the plus side, you know just from the first page of the site that it won't contain anything of value. Had it been better written, it might have taken you half an hour to discover that.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

HagenP — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:45:51 GMT

Raymond, you are already partially "infected" - on a web site, the information "This web site is...." is also highly redundant. How about:

Library of X materials

:-)

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

anonymous — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:27:53 GMT

The purpose of this Web site is not actually to establish a blogging point where individuals can enrich their learns on facilitating and leveraging .NET-related activities most effectively.

[That's awesome. I have a new subtitle! -Raymond]

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Programmerman — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:54:32 GMT

I bow to you, anonymous, for one of the greatest laughs I've had in a while, and to you, Raymond, for making it your subtitle.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Alan — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:08:10 GMT

I have one URL for ya:

http://www.bullshitbingo.net/cards/bullshit/

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

eikonos — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:41:31 GMT

I wholeheartedly agree about writing in clear, direct language.

Kudos to anonymous for the subtitle and Raymond for using it.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Slackmaster K — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:52:37 GMT

Just saw your new tagline: "not actually to establish a blogging point where individuals can enrich their learns on facilitating and leveraging .NET-related activities most effectively"... Awesome.

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

steven — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:13:45 GMT

Awesome indeed. Had to read it several times over only to discover that the parser in my brain isn't up to it :)

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

Josh — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:35:59 GMT

Love the new subtitle :) Kudos to Anonymous ;)

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

nah yah, whatever — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:53:54 GMT

Oh my word. Only just noticed it. Does anyone have any Kleenex?

re: Microspeak: Well, actually management-speak

tcliu — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:49:46 GMT

I'd like to cast my vote for:

Succinct, complete. Everyone understands what it is about - if it is seeded with papers/articles etc. about X, people will understand it is a library. If it has a blog, people will understand that the blog is about news about X. If it has a forum, people will understand they can discuss X there.