I hate management books. A majority of the people who spend their time figuring how to synergize the optimum needle movement never get beyond five words when speaking to me. It's not because I think these people are stupid; I think they are lazy. They would rather seek outside definitions to define very specific issues, which - most of the time - do not come close to describing the situation.
Recently, in my investor relations course, I was asked to read Ram Charan's What the CEO Wants You to Know. The book is not some miracle of business communication. It doesn't try to ascribe new meanings to existant terms and euphemisms. What it does do is encourage the reader to speak in simple financial terms. That's right finance. While the examples are a little dated - he cites Jack Welch and Gateway Computers - Charan strips business communication back to what it should be and it was an extremely refreshing experience.
Before you think that I am all about Charan, I should note that he also wrote a book called Game Changers. "Game changer" is the new "paradigm shift" and "groundswell." People are starting to overuse it and I am sure you will hear me complaining about it in the near future.
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