Squishy Words Are the Death of Clarity

The words that sink execution aren’t the fancy bits of jargon. They’re the everyday shortcuts—the words so common that nobody notices how vague those words are.

Squishy words leave a trail of misunderstandings, false assumptions, and dropped balls.

Take these phrases:

• “They’ll take care of it.”

  Who’s they? Which team? Which person? And what does take care of mean—send an email, rebuild the process, or just put a sticky note on it? And what exactly is it?

• “We’ll circle back when it’s ready.”

  Who’s we? What does circle back actually mean? And what’s ready—finished, drafted, approved, or just not embarrassing?

• “She owns the process.”

  Which process? Does owns mean accountable for the outcome, or just happens to update the spreadsheet? Does she also own the results, or just the paperwork? And who the heck is “she”?!?

• “We need to help them out.”

  Who’s we—all of us, or just the person in the room who nodded? Who are them—another team, a single manager, or the entire company? And what does help mean—send resources, offer advice, or just cheer from the sidelines?

• “That should be fine.”

  That—which part? Should—based on what? And fine—fine for whom, and compared to what?

These sound like small things, but add them up and you’ve got a recipe for finger-pointing and wasted time. Everyone leaves the meeting thinking they’re aligned, when in reality each member of the group is walking out with a different interpretation. Confusion ensues and execution suffers.