By Francesca Donner Getty Images People say they hate corporate buzzwords, but that doesn’t stop them using them. (See: The Buzzwords We Can’t Help Using.) One of the biggest offenders is “innovation.” Companies use it to suggest they’re on the cutting edge when they’re really just describing ordinary progress; schools are incorporating it into their curricula. Has the word — and concept — become so overused as to have lost its meaning? Many say it has. In short, “innovation” has become a cliche, a corporate buzzword. And it’s not alone. Turns out there’s a slew of buzzwords and buzz phrases that drive people crazy. We invited WSJ readers to share their least-liked workplace buzzwords, and more than 100 responded. Here’s the best of the worst: ... Continue reading →
From left, Nancy, Van, and Michael Wolff in 1958. On the way to visit my mother one recent rainy afternoon, I stopped in, after quite some constant prodding, to see my insurance salesman. He was pressing his efforts to sell me a long-term-care policy with a pitch about how much I’d save if I bought it now, before the rates were set to precipitously rise. For $5,000 per year, I’d receive, when I needed it, a daily sum to cover my future nursing costs. With an annual inflation adjustment of 5 percent, I could get in my dotage (or the people caring for me would get) as much as $900 a day. My mother carries such a policy, and it pays, in 2012 dollars, $180 ... Continue reading →