min-myinnersoul

Political correctness has seeped into every facet of life. Witness Goldman Sachs's recent policy banning profanity from emails. Fair enough - it seems reasonable that employees should not using four letter expletives in formal communication. But then where does normal venting of spleen end and profanity start ? Apparently asterisks aren't allowed too. You can't say s@#*. You can't use popular abbreviations such as WTF. Where will this end ? I know where it will end. There will be a Chief Language Officer appointed ! Goldman's reaction is perfectly understandable. In Senate hearings (now commonplace risks for any company), the famous email from Thomas Muntag has been oft quoted  "Boy, that timberwolf was one s___ deal" - now you can understand the title of this post, can't you. This innocuous email has come to haunt the company as pompous and self righteous senators (whose vocabulary of four letter words is no less fearsome) have used it to portray the...

Here’s something to provoke you. The more senior you are, the less you know your own company. You spend a lifetime slogging away to do what ? Reach the corner office. Shut yourself in a huge cabin. Place two pretty secretaries between you and anybody who wants to reach you. Hear what you want to hear. Be told what others think you want to listen to. Do you know your company any more ?? Communication in the work place is one of those funny things – despite all the noise and bustle, it seldom takes place effectively. From the top down , you get those unbelievable newsletters filled with platitudes. Write up on how great we are doing and how we must all tighten our belts to face the future. The odd photos of some employee who has got married or somebody who got some award. Grinning photos of the completely untelegenic CEO. I’m yet to see any company newsletter that’s even remotely readable. From the bottom up, you get completely slanted news. If it’s a presentation, its about how great a ...