The New Year is when we often look forward and look back. This blog post is about things in business that I dislike and an appeal to do things better in 2023. Here are some of my business pet peeves.
Worn Out Language That Has Lost Any Meaningful Meaning
“Put a pin in it….and circle back.”
Ok, nothing is inherently wrong with this. I hear it way too often. How about, “let’s deal with this at our next meeting`.”
“We need to think outside of the box.”
Overused jargon. How about, “let’s look for some creative solutions?”
“New normal”
This is overused, often used as an excuse not to do things correctly and avoid responsibility.
“Liberal / MAGA Republican / Socialist”
These labels mean nothing these days. They are just used to label and demonize those with whom you disagree. They are so overused that they have lost any descriptive value.
“It is what it is.”
We use this in Hawaii, along with “If can, can. If no can, no can.” These are excuses to do nothing and accept things the way they are, however onerous they may be. Let’s not accept the status quo if it’s bad; change is always possible.
“Viral”
After three years of COVID, it’s time to stop saying some online content has gone “viral.”
Here are a few other things I’d like to see change in 2023
- A truly effective way to reduce unsolicited calls. Many people that I know don’t answer their cell phones anymore. I do this for unknown numbers on my cell phone, but I need to answer my office phone for obvious reasons. I get 3-8 unwanted calls daily for loans, scammy services, and some that I can’t understand. I’d love for these to go away.
- People who send an email and call seconds later and say, “did you get my email?” People don’t know how annoying it is to be with a customer or focus on some project and to be interrupted by an entirely meaningless and distracting phone call.
- Being dishonest. We often get calls from clients asking to fix their email or website. Our first question is, “have you made any changes to your website or email settings or computers?” We ask this to identify what might have gone wrong. Answer it honestly, please. It’ll save you and us lots of time.
- Not providing timely feedback on a project and expecting it to be done on the initial timeline.
- Expecting responses 24/7. If you send a non-emergency email late in the afternoon on a Friday, we probably won’t answer until Monday. Expect a reply during regular business hours.
- Making an appointment and not showing up or calling. Our time is precious to us, so if you can’t make it or want to cancel (for any reason), just let us know. We’ll understand and schedule other work for that time.
- Asking us to use Copyrighted material. No, just because you “found it on the Internet” does not mean you have the right to use it. We will not print any Disney, Pixar, Marvel, etc. graphics, even if it is for your Keiki birthday banner.