Business Slang: Top 10 Worst “-ize” Words
10 “-ize” words _________.
(fill in the blank)
10 “-ize” words that must die.
10 “-ize” words that make me cry.
10 “-ize” words I want to pulverize.
Why do so many business slang words end with “-ize”?
I dunno. But, enough of my complaining. Time for the list.
Ten “-ize” words that HR should ban from business
10. Featurize. Hiring managers may featurize jobs (add unnecessary features) thinking it makes them more attractive to candidates. For example, “You’ll be working 10-12 hours a day, sitting in this cubicle, but we’ll featurize and order you a new Aeron™ chair as soon as you accept the offer.”
9. Proceduralize. In the name of efficiency, managers often proceduralize processes – they make rules about how to do things so work becomes routine (boring?).
8. Supersize. Everyone knows this one. Contrary to popular belief, “Supersize it” is not proper English! Thanks McDonald’s.
7. Genericize / Anonymize. Great, there are two “ize” slang words that mean pretty much the same thing – to take away all distinguishing characteristics. So, bad managers can genericize reports and then take the credit. Or, good consultants may anonymize reports to get rid of the names of specific people. Either way, why not just clean the document? There’s no need to slaughter helpless words.
6. Productize. Companies productize services or technology to sell it to outside customers. Clever employees may do the same thing inside companies. HR is usually a cost center. So, they know better than almost any group of employees that when times are tough, it’s better to be helping your company make products. Hmmm - productize the comp cycle?
5. Operationalize. Um… this is a long way of saying “to do”? What could be more clear “than do”? I’m glad Yoda didn’t say “Try not. Operationalize.”
4. Templatize. As my son would say… OB-vi-ous. Even though it’s obvious that this means to make a template, do we need this word?
3. Bulletize. Who’s leading this language revolution? And who’s following? To make a list into bullet points. Just shoot me.
2. Calendarize. Schedule… or mark on your calendar. Who calendarizes? Lots and lots of people. Not me.
1. INCENTIVIZE. I can’t get this business slang word out of my head. I cringe when I hear it. The word you’re looking for is motivate.
10 “ize” words I despise! Business slang at its worst.
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9 Responses to “Business Slang: Top 10 Worst “-ize” Words”
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For next week, wouldn’t it be fun to make up new arbitrary and annoying slang words & see if you can get them to catch on? I’ve always thought “deglaze” should be used metaphorically in meetings. And “they killed Kenny” should be used to mean “they acted predictably.” Etc.
Laura, That’s funny. I’m sure that is exactly where many of these other words came from. If I don’t write about “they killed Kenny” next week, I’ll probably be writing about it next year and tracing it back to you.
Frank:
Keep up the good stuff!!
The most egregious use of ize is when folks use utilize when the word use would suffice!!
robert edward cenek
Cenek Report
You know what? I actually like the slang term supersize. I don’t know about the whole operationalize term. It seems a bit overboard. It sounds like a word someone wanting to appear stuffy would use. In these times, I say simplicity is the best policy.
Robert, Thanks for the comment. I agree about utilize. It’s a crazy replacement for use. I think it may be one of those words that people think adds emphasis. There don’t seem to be enough superlatives to go around.
Jen, Supersize may still have some cultural cache. I fear what will happen when memories fade and it’s just one more office oddity. Operationalize is already there. I agree, like many business slang words, people probably say it for a reason. Folks sometimes use slang to appear knowledgeable, hip, or part of a company’s “in crowd.” Thanks for commenting.
Actually, operationalize has a very specific meaning: to make specific. When you are doing research, you need to make your variables operational - that is, so specific that they can be measured easily. You can’t measure very easily how unhealthy a person is, so you have to operationalize health: break it into a series of smaller, measurable variables like bmi, calorie intake, number of days missed from work by being sick, etc. Adapted from research to other uses, it just means to make specific or to break down into specific components. It’s not jargon slang, its people actually remembering their undergrad research methods classes. It’s something business folks stole from we research folks, not something business folks invented.
I actually like the word templatize. As mentioned, it says what it means, and it’s necessary to use at times. What would you recommend as an alternative?
I don’t like redoing work that doesn’t need to be done, so I prefer to templatize wherever possible.
I can’t BELIEVE you omitted my most hated -ize word: “MONETIZE”. You will never hear a pitch without that word. I find it so awkward - like you are afraid to talk about something so base as ‘making money’, so you try to “class up” your discussion, the same way a police officer talks about speeders who “allegedly perpatrate to operate their vehicle at a high rate of speed”
Scott, lol, that is one that really is there all the time. Point well taken.