Using buzz-words
appropriated from other domains incorrectly is about the worst thing
that a manager or public figure can do. This is guaranteed to make
smart people think you are stupid. Two examples I often hear are the
word “quantum” and the phrase “sovereign risk”.
“Quantum” does
not mean “total”. It is the plural of “quanta”, meaning the
most basic unit a thing consists of. Outside physics, it most common
use is in law, applied to compensation amounts derived from the
application of several different legal axioms. In context, the word's
subject is some or all of the multiple amounts, not their total
amount. This is an important distinction.
When a CEO stands up
at an AGM and starts their address with, “We confidently forecast
the quantum of revenue next year will be 20% higher than this year”,
without any context of the units that make up the revenue, that man
or woman is using a big word to try and impress people. And failing
dismally.
“Sovereign risk”
is appropriated from the finance industry where it means the
probability of a state defaulting on interest payments on its
treasury bonds. The phrase entered common parlance in the 2011
European debt crisis where Greece and a few other nations came close
to default. How many Australian pundits, politicians and executives
now use the phrase to mean any uncertainty in proposed government
action or to simply criticise a policy they don't like? I've heard
lots of 'em on ABC's “The Business” alone. And either consciously
or unconsciously the purpose is to allude to the chaos in the streets of
Athens we all witnessed on TV.
How does this sound
to people where this phrase still has its specific finance domain
meaning? I think its likely to lower confidence in Australian
economic stability. That can't be a good thing.
When you use
technical words incorrectly and appropriate phrases out of context,
you can do a lot of damage to your own reputation and produce all
sorts of unintended and unpredictable effects. And smart people will
think you're an idiot.
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