Understanding Business Jargon: What Really Drives Success in the Hudson Valley
By Mike Oates
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time in meetings—whether in conference rooms in Poughkeepsie, boardrooms in White Plains, or even a diner booth in Kingston that served as an unexpected strategy meeting. Throughout this journey, I’ve noticed that the business world often uses its own special language. This lingo can sound fancy, feel productive, and sometimes, just not mean much at all.
In the spirit of sharing useful insights, I’d like to present a simple guide to some common business phrases.
Let’s kick things off with a popular phrase: “thinking outside the box.” In my experience, I’ve never actually seen this box everyone talks about. Still, we always hear that we should think outside of it. It makes me wonder who put us in there in the first place! I suspect the box represents a conference room. If you really want to think creatively, go talk to a customer instead.
Next up is “Let’s blue-sky it.” This signals that we’re about to have a free-flowing discussion with no specific budget or deadline—kind of like a snow day for business. These conversations can be fun until someone inevitably asks, “Who’s going to handle this?” Then, you can almost hear the clouds roll in as everyone shifts uncomfortably in their seats.
Another common phrase is “How do we scale it?” This often comes up when discussing ideas that aren’t fully developed yet. Scaling may sound great, but it’s usually the last step. The first steps involve satisfying one customer at a time and learning along the way.
Then there’s “Let’s take this offline.” This means the current topic isn’t going smoothly and we should discuss it later, likely somewhere else. It’s similar to saying, “Let’s put a pin in it,” which is where good ideas tend to fade into the background.
How about “circle back?” That’s a phrase I’ve been hearing for years. I guess I enjoy the view from this continuous loop!
And let’s not forget about “low-hanging fruit.” Everyone aims for it, but in reality, it’s never really there. By the time someone mentions it, that fruit has already been picked and enjoyed. Similarly, there’s “Let’s not boil the ocean,” which is good advice, although I’ve never met anyone actually planning to do that.
We also have what I refer to as the lightning round of jargon: “synergy,” “bandwidth,” “move the needle,” “deep dive,” “best practices,” “pivot,” “disrupt,” and more. Phrases like “ping me” or “run it up the flagpole” seem to pop up frequently. And of course, there’s “it is what it is,” which may be the only phrase about time that is completely accurate when it says “going forward.”
One of my favorites is “Let’s unpack that,” which I think means, “I’d like you to take a moment to speak!”
Now, I should admit—I use these phrases too. I probably say “circle back” at least once a week. Some of these terms effectively shorten long explanations, and I’d bet that many readers have said something similar today. However, while jargon can be harmless, it becomes a problem when we confuse the language with real progress.
In observing businesses across the Hudson Valley—from family-run manufacturers in Orange County to life-science startups in Westchester to farms in Columbia County—it’s clear that no one has ever paid payroll through fancy jargon.
Successful businesses here focus on practical actions. They know their numbers before entering the bank, they make those extra calls, and they personally train new hires rather than just handing them a packet. When they innovate, it’s not through grand plans; it’s often because someone noticed a customer need and addressed it. It might be a shop owner making a product that people have been requesting or a machinist researching a previously unserved supply chain. In the real world, creativity often comes in work boots.
These businesses have a strong focus on results—measuring success by whether they shipped a product, whether a customer returns, or if they made payroll on time. Those are the real indicators of progress.
That’s what makes the Hudson Valley a wonderful place to start a business. We have excellent colleges, a growing regional airport, and proximity to one of the biggest markets in the nation. Our culture still values hard work over empty talk. Our employees show up, our managers pitch in, and our entrepreneurs tend to be skeptical of anyone using jargon excessively.
So here’s a simple proposal: Keep the jargon if you like, but make sure it leads to action. When you say “let’s circle back,” actually do that. Before you talk about scaling something, ensure it works on a small scale first. End every blue-sky meeting with assigned tasks and deadlines. And if someone tells you to think outside the box, consider stepping outside the office instead—the customers are out there, and they have the answers.
In the end, the business world is not about catchy phrases. It’s about hard work, planning, true creativity, and tangible results. The Hudson Valley has all of these in spades, so let’s take full advantage of that.
— Mike Oates, President and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC), is focused on economic growth in the region.
