“Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.” Remember that? Chances are one of your parents taught it to you to help you deal with someone who wasn’t being nice to you. The problem is, though, that it’s wrong.
Words are powerful. And they can hurt, particularly in the business world. They reflect attitudes, behaviors, biases, and simply old ways of thinking that can be harmful to your company’s strategy and mission. They reflect structures of thought and approaches to issues.
So, in the spirit of respecting the power of words and spurring a healthy discussion, let me lay out four words/phrases that I think really need to change in the business world, and why:
