Shutterstock/Jelena Zelen
The corporate world is full of pitfalls that career starters in particular quickly stumble over. The problem is that some things cannot be learned through study or training, but rather experienced firsthand in a more or less brutal way.
An example of this is communication in companies. There is a secret language not only in job references. Even in normal interactions with colleagues and especially with superiors and managers, phrases are often used that initially seem clear. However, their actual purpose is to dismiss concerns, to cover up their own lack of plans, or to discreetly reject unpleasant suggestions that might mean more work or responsibility.
Business phrases – and what they actually mean
We have created a small collection of such idioms – including their actual meaning.
| Business German | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| “We are very ambitious in this regard.” | The schedule is absurd. |
| “It’s not rocket science.” | Nobody understands it, but I pretend. |
| “That’s a very good question.” | I don’t know the answer and you won’t like it anyway. |
| “We’re escalating this now.” | I’ll get someone louder. |
| “Let’s sharpen this up in a small circle.” | You are not invited. |
| “We are agile in this regard.” | There is no plan. |
| “This is strategically relevant.” | Someone very important wanted it. Don’t ask any more. |
| “We’re happy to take that with us.” | Already forgotten. |
| “We shouldn’t decide this hastily.” | I hope it works itself out. |
| “The content isn’t quite complete yet.” | The concept is complete nonsense. |
| “The topic is not a priority right now.” | I don’t want to deal with it. |
| “We need more ownership here.” | Nobody feels responsible and I certainly don’t feel responsible either. |
| “We’re challenging that again.” | I disagree, but I don’t have a better suggestion. |
| “We have to get this started properly.” | It’s complete chaos. |
| “We’re not quite aligned yet.” | Two departments are currently waging a small war. |
| “We are fundamentally well positioned there.” | It just works. |
| “We’ll take that with us to the next steering committee.” | There it finally disappears. |
| “We have to leverage synergies.” | There will be job cuts. |
| “We need a pragmatic approach.” | There is not enough time, money or expertise to find a good solution. |
| “This has grown historically.” | Nobody understands the system anymore, but nobody dares touch it either. |
| “We’re driving here on sight.” | Panik mit PowerPoint. |
| “We should evaluate this again based on data.” | Unfortunately, gut feeling is not enough as an argument this time. |
| “We have to keep an eye on the radio.” | The rumors are probably true. |
| “It’s on our radar.” | We know about it. For eighteen months. And will continue to know it. |
| “It’s a quick win.” | Takes at least three months. |
| “We just have to do it now.” | Planning was skipped. |
| “This is an opportunity.” | A problem with a new name. |
| “I would like to do a deep dive again.” | I didn’t understand the presentation. |
| “This is currently still a work in progress.” | Virtually nothing exists. |
| “We need a single point of contact here.” | Only one person should hold his head. |
| “This was decided top-down.” | Discussion pointless. |
| “We have to become more efficient.” | More work with fewer people. |
| “This is a flagship project.” | It will be very expensive and no one knows exactly why. |
| “We still see potential for optimization.” | It works poorly. |
| “This isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.” | We can’t get it fixed. |
| “We are monitoring the situation closely.” | We wait and hope. |
| “Communication was suboptimal.” | Disaster Totals. |
| “We have different expectations.” | Both sides are extremely annoyed. |
| “We have to put the horsepower on the road.” | We’ve been talking for months and nothing’s happened. |
| “We have ambitious goals.” | Completely unrealistic goals. |
| “We have some homework.” | This is going to be really uncomfortable. |
| “I would like to have my hat on it.” | I want the laurels. |
| “We have to work more closely together.” | Nobody talks to each other. |
| “We have to get all the stakeholders together again.” | Six more meetings without results. |
| “We need more transparency here.” | I want to control what you do. |
| “We don’t want to create silos.” | Each department is already defending its own kingdom. |
| “The topic is highly dynamic.” | Nobody has the overview. |
| “We need to diversify more widely.” | We are currently losing income. |
| “It’s sporty.” | Impossible. |
| “We shouldn’t open any construction sites there.” | Just don’t change anything. |
| “It’s a no-brainer.” | I don’t want anything to do with it if it goes wrong. |
| “We’re on a learning curve here.” | We blew it. Multiple times. And will probably blow it again. |
| “We need a resilient commitment.” | This time please really deliver. |
| “We are in a constructive exchange.” | Passive-aggressive email battle. |
| “We have to synchronize this again.” | Everyone understood something different. |
| “We have to look at this holistically.” | I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’d like to cover it elegantly. |
| “It’s operationally challenging.” | It’s a disaster. |
| “We have a conflict of goals here.” | Two bosses want opposite things. |
| “It’s rather difficult at the moment.” | Total loss. |
| “We shouldn’t approach it too academically.” | Please no details or even logic. |
| “I still don’t have enough altitude to fly.” | Speak more simply. |
| “The topic is emotionally charged.” | Two people hate each other. |
| “We have to take the customer with us.” | The customer won’t like that. |
| “This is a political issue.” | Reason no longer plays a role. |
| “We still have open flanks.” | This can blow up in our face at any time. |
| “We have to become more resilient.” | The store is extremely fragile. |
| “It has reached a certain altitude.” | It’s completely out of control. |
| “We don’t want to look for anyone to blame here.” | The culprits have already been identified. |
| “There are different truths.” | At least one side is lying. |
| “This is an exciting approach.” | Terrible idea, but I want to be polite. |
| “We deliberately chose a lean solution.” | There was no budget for that. |
