Corporate America word list

Responsibility for actions, decisions, and results, including an expectation to explain them.

“The office round moved on, but people were still whispering the letters in accountability.”

Formal recognition that something happened.

“Her email got a one-word acknowledgment after nine days.”

Also accepted: acknowledgement

The purchase of one company by another.

“The acquisition came with new lanyards.”

Able to be acted upon.

“Nothing in that meeting was actionable.”

A list of things to discuss.

“This meeting has no agenda.”

Agreement across a team.

“We need alignment on the alignment doc.”

Gradually paying off a debt.

“He said amortization and lost the room.”

The allocation or use of money, resources, or assets for a particular purpose.

“Appropriation turned the office round into an unexpectedly competitive spelling moment.”

Settling a dispute through a neutral party.

“The parking spot went to arbitration.”

Gradual loss of employees.

“Attrition solved the layoff problem.”

An official inspection of accounts.

“The word audit cleared the room.”

An ID card worn at work.

“He left his badge at home again.”

Available capacity to do work.

“I do not have the bandwidth.”

A standard to measure against.

“The benchmark is whatever Steve did.”

The person in charge.

“The boss replied with one thumbs up.”

A plan for spending money.

“The budget died in the second quarter.”

The process of becoming more controlled by formal rules, procedures, and administrative layers.

“Bureaucratization sounded easy in the office round until somebody had to spell it without autocorrect.”

The process of funding a business or recording costs and assets as capital.

“Capitalization sounded easy in the office round until somebody had to spell it without autocorrect.”

Working together with others toward a shared goal.

“The office round paused for a second when collaboration showed up.”

A person you work with.

“A colleague microwaved fish again.”

Following rules and regulations.

“Compliance training is due, again.”

The formation or collection of multiple businesses or parts into a larger combined organization.

“The room knew exactly what conglomeration meant during the office round and still hesitated on the spelling.”

A partitioned office workspace.

“Her cubicle has mood lighting now.”

The latest time to finish.

“The deadline moved again.”

A set of presentation slides.

“The deck is sixty slides of nothing.”

A thing promised to a client.

“The deliverable is a slide.”

Loss of value over time.

“The company car is pure depreciation.”

Expanding into different products, markets, investments, or activities to reduce dependence on one area.

“The office round table recognized diversification instantly and still could not agree on the spelling.”

Achieving more with less waste.

“The efficiency report took four months.”

An electronic message.

“The email chain is forty replies deep.”

Theft of funds placed in one's trust.

“The embezzlement was in the birthday budget.”

The practice of creating, building, and operating a business, often while taking financial risk.

“The host repeated entrepreneurship twice in the office round before anyone wanted to go first.”

To move an issue to higher management.

“Please do not escalate the stapler thing.”

Involving trust in managing money.

“He has a fiduciary duty to the snack fund.”

Estimating future results, demand, revenue, costs, or other business conditions.

“Forecasting turned the office round into an unexpectedly competitive spelling moment.”

The systems, rules, and processes used to direct and oversee an organization.

“At the office round, governance came up and everyone immediately had an opinion.”

A ranked system of people.

“The hierarchy is very flat, allegedly.”

To motivate with rewards.

“They incentivize with pizza now.”

Protection or compensation for specified losses, damages, or legal liabilities.

“Someone mentioned indemnification during the office round, and the conversation took a turn.”

Protection against loss or damage.

“The indemnity clause is doing a lot of work.”

Involving or occurring between different departments within an organization.

“The proposal sounded interdepartmental once the details were explained.”

A trainee working for experience.

“The intern fixed the printer, promote them.”

A bill for goods or services.

“The invoice is ninety days overdue.”

To use something to advantage.

“Let us leverage our learnings.”

A gathering to discuss business.

“This meeting could have been an email.”

A short written office message.

“The memo answered nothing.”

A formal written office note.

“A four-page memorandum about the fridge policy.”

The joining of two companies.

“The merger doubled the meetings.”

A temporary ban on an activity.

“There is a moratorium on reply-all.”

Discussion aimed at reaching an agreement between people or organizations with different interests.

“As soon as negotiation appeared in the office round, everyone started silently counting letters.”

A place where business work is done.

“The office plant outlived three managers.”

Bringing a new hire up to speed.

“Onboarding was four hours of slides.”

Relating to running a business.

“It is an operational concern.”

In a way that relates to how an organization is structured or managed.

“The teams were organized differently organizationally after the merger.”

To hire outside help for work.

“We outsource the fun parts too.”

The list of employees to be paid.

“Payroll ran a day late and everyone noticed.”

A benefit that comes with a job.

“The main perquisite is free coffee.”

The employees of an organization.

“Personnel says we cannot say HR anymore.”

To shift strategy in a new direction.

“We pivot every time someone reads an article.”

The process of deciding which tasks, goals, or opportunities should receive attention first.

“Someone mentioned prioritization during the office round, and the conversation took a turn.”

The process of obtaining goods.

“Procurement needs six weeks for one chair.”

Money gained after costs.

“Profit is up and the snacks are gone.”

Ownership of a business, especially a business owned by one individual.

“The host repeated proprietorship twice in the office round before anyone wanted to go first.”

Happening four times a year.

“The quarterly review ruined Thursday.”

The minimum number needed to hold a vote.

“No quorum, meeting rescheduled forever.”

A person who finds new hires.

“The recruiter called it a family.”

The elimination of a job as no longer needed.

“HR calls it redundancy, not firing.”

Repayment of money spent.

“The reimbursement takes six weeks.”

Payment for work or services.

“The remuneration is mostly exposure.”

A formal request for goods, services, staff, or resources within an organization.

“Everyone in the office round knew requisition, but spelling it aloud was another story.”

Reorganizing a company, team, finances, or operations to improve performance or respond to change.

“Someone used restructuring correctly during the office round, then immediately second-guessed the spelling.”

A summary of work experience.

“His resume says fluent in spreadsheets.”

Also accepted: résumé

Fixed regular pay for work.

“His salary is confidential and disappointing.”

The process of pooling financial assets and converting them into tradable securities.

“Securitization turned the office round into an unexpectedly competitive spelling moment.”

Pay given when a job ends.

“The severance came with a gift card.”

A grid program for data and numbers.

“The whole company runs on one spreadsheet.”

A person with an interest in a project.

“Every stakeholder replied all.”

A legal order demanding documents or testimony.

“The email chain ended with the word subpoena in it.”

Combined effort greater than parts.

“He said synergy with a straight face.”

A company that sells something.

“The vendor sent another gift basket.”