A metaphor for assessing new employees' resilience and performance under pressure. 'Eggs' become harder (more resilient), while 'potatoes' become softer (less resilient)
"After that challenging project, we now know Jim is definitely an egg."
"We need to determine if the new hires are eggs or potatoes before assigning them to high-stress roles."
Use this phrase when discussing employee performance, particularly in high-pressure situations or when planning assignments for new team members based on their ability to handle stress.
Trying to make someone perform a task that goes against their natural strengths or skills, setting them up for failure.
"We’ve got our best coder handling sales calls—it’s like trying to teach a fish to climb a tree."
Use this when someone is placed in a role or assigned a task that doesn’t align with their core competencies or talents.
A situation where something is a big deal or celebration for one person, but just an ordinary occurrence for another
"Getting that small account might be one man's thanksgiving for the new sales rep, but for our top performer, it's just another Thursday."
"The junior dev was ecstatic about fixing that bug, but for the senior engineer, it was one man's thanksgiving."
Use this term to describe scenarios where perspectives on the significance of an achievement or event differ greatly between individuals, often due to differences in experience or position within the company.
To follow up aggressively and persistently with sales prospects or clients
"Our Q4 numbers are low, it's time to crash the boards and close some deals."
"We need to crash the boards on those leads from the trade show."
Use when encouraging sales teams to increase their follow-up efforts, especially during critical periods or when dealing with high-value prospects.
The strategic practice of gaining support for an idea before a formal meeting to ensure its approval
"Let's do some landsliding before the budget meeting to make sure our proposal passes."
"Thanks to her landsliding efforts, the new initiative was approved unanimously."
Employ this tactic when you have an important proposal or idea that needs broad support, especially in environments where decisions are made by consensus or voting.
A sarcastic term used when someone is using a lot of corporate jargon and fluff, rather than addressing the real issue or providing valuable information.
"This whole meeting is just bullshit bingo—nobody is actually solving the problem!"
Use this when a meeting or conversation is filled with meaningless buzzwords and no actual progress is being made.
Working hard on something that doesn’t really matter, focusing effort on tasks with little to no value.
"We’re spending so much time on this feature that no one is asking for—are we just massaging elbows here?"
Use this when a team or individual is spending time and energy on tasks that are not impactful or don’t move the needle in a meaningful way.
A rapid-fire series of very brief (around 5-minute) meetings or check-ins, used as an alternative to the default 30-minute sync-up meetings
"Instead of our usual 30-minute sync, let's sync storm for the next 5 minutes to cover everything quickly."
"Our team has been sync storming all morning - it's amazing how much we can cover in these quick bursts."
Use this term when you want to propose or describe a series of ultra-short, focused interactions that replace a single, longer meeting. It's perfect for days when you need to touch base with multiple people or teams without eating up large blocks of time.
To soften or cushion the impact of negative information or feedback for overly sensitive employees, often by presenting it in a more palatable or less direct manner
"I like what you're saying but we're going to need to bubble wrap that before it goes out."
"Stop bubble wrapping the manager; he needs to know the real status of the account."
"The team decided to bubble wrap the CEO and not tell her about the project delays."
Use this term when discussing situations where information, especially negative or challenging news, is being withheld to avoid confrontation or maintain a positive atmosphere. It's often used critically to advocate for more transparent communication.