Corporate idioms!

In today’s corporate world, it has become common to work with teams spread across different geographies. With it, comes the challenge to communicate effectively. Workers in the US have a certain style of talking laced with figurative phrases. It creates comical situations as we relate to these idioms rooted in our own cultural moorings.

 A common American phrase is “let’s first knock off the low hanging fruits!” The intent is clear- when you have a large number of tasks to be completed, take care of the easier ones first. An Indian mind is wired differently. The moment you hear “low hanging fruits”, you immediately drift off. All sorts of fruits crowd the mind- juicy mangoes, tasty jack-fruits, tantalizing grapes and succulent guavas! You wonder which fruit this American team-leader has in mind. You feel like reminding him of a counterpoint- if the fruit is a coconut, the lowest fruit would be quite high! Wrapped in your world of fruits, the rest of the meeting is a blur.

 Another casually used American idiom is “you don’t have to boil the ocean” to do this task- there are simpler ways. The phrase yanks you away from reality. Mythical stories like the churning of the ocean gatecrash into the mind as you imagine the gigantic proportions of the burner and the vessel! “You do not want to reward diving catches alone” is a Baseball idiom. The corporate message is that an inconspicuous worker should be recognized as much as someone who steals the show. “Diving catches” is too tempting for a Cricket enthusiast. The mind takes you on a dream-ride of diving catches- from the days of Eknath Solkar to present-day Jadeja. Reality strikes when you are jolted from your reverie with a pointed question at the meeting, “Can you take that as your AI?”  

From the context, you understand some phrases. “You earn brownie points” when you volunteer to do some service that will help you at a later date. “The code is like spaghetti” is when the computer program is too confusing. “To pick someone’s brain” is to get an expert’s opinion. When something bothers you at work, you express it with the phrase “what gives me sleepless nights is...” To ensure something “does not fall through the cracks” is to pay attention to detail. And then, there are phrases you just cannot comprehend- “If push comes to shove, let’s do this!”

At the end of the meeting, the team-leader asks you in his cheery, accented voice, “Buddy! Just hang in there! You’re a happy camper?” You don’t know what he is saying and how to respond. The silence is awkward. You incoherently mumble, “I am happy”. Mercifully, the meeting comes to a close!