After more than 30 years in corporate life, and another eight or so in consulting, I wish I could have ALL the time wasted in bullshit meetings and conference calls. Every five years or so, a new “management mantra” would emerge and we’d all “ideate” adaptations for our companies. Remember In Search of Excellence? Chaos? Seven Habits? Kaisan? And recently, SIGMA 6 and Blue Ocean? All terrific concepts in theory, designed to make us THINK about structuring and running our organizations more efficiently. However, too many times the “square peg” of these concepts are forcefully pounded into the “round hole” of our organizations without adapting either to make them fit better.
A viral joke has been floating around the ‘net for a while called “Bullshit Bingo.” Give it a whirl at your next meeting, conference, or seminar and see if it doesn’t resonate.
1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare your "Bullshit Bingo" card by drawing a square-I find that 5"x 5" is a good size-and dividing it into columns-five across and five down. That will give you 25 1-inch blocks.
2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block: synergy, strategic fit, core competencies, best practice, bottom line, revisit, take that off-line, 24/7, out of the loop, benchmark, value-added, proactive, win-win, think outside the box, fast track, result-driven, empower (or empowerment), knowledge base, at the end of the day, touch base, mindset, client focus(ed), ballpark, game plan, leverage.
3. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.
4. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout BULLSHIT!
Conversely, test your OWN agenda or comments for meetings you run, and make sure that someone will have no reason to stand up and yell BULLSHIT!
"If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand" --- me