Business jargon and corporate buzzwords, explained

The responsibility to explain and justify your actions and accept consequences for results, whether positive or negative.

The act of one company buying another company or a significant part of its business.

Actionable means clear and practical enough that someone can act on it right away.

ARR stands for Annual Recurring Revenue.

B2B stands for business-to-business.

B2C stands for Business-to-Consumer, a business model where companies sell products or services directly to end consumers rather than to…

A person hired to improve quality standards during a hiring process, or a person who sets and maintains high standards for team…

BAU stands for "business as usual": the normal, everyday work of a team, as opposed to special projects or emergencies.

A job interview format where hiring managers ask about your past experiences and actions to predict how you would behave in specific work…

A proven, effective method or standard way of doing something in your industry or field.

Best-in-class means the best of its kind, better than all competitors in the same category.

Bleeding edge means the very newest technology, so new that it may still be unstable or risky to use.

Blue-sky thinking means creative thinking with no limits, ignoring practical problems like budget or time for now.

Reaching a point where costs and revenue are equal, with no profit or loss.

To separate or divide into smaller parts or components.

To bring or include something or someone as part of an activity or event.

A formal document or argument that explains why a company should invest time and money in a project, including expected benefits, costs…

Agreement and support from team members or stakeholders for a project, decision, or idea.

CAC stands for Customer Acquisition Cost—the total amount of money a company spends to acquire one new customer.

To be in control or have the authority to make decisions.

The series of job positions and levels you progress through in your career, typically moving from junior to more senior roles with…

To register one's presence or arrival, often using a digital system or app.

To repeatedly rework, rebuild, or change code or processes without clear progress or decision-making.

A sudden, sharp drop or end in something important, such as performance, features, or support.

A person or company hired to do specific work or a project for a limited time, rather than a permanent employee.

The percentage of users or visitors who complete a desired action (such as making a purchase, signing up, or clicking a button) out of the…

Cross-functional describes a team, project, or initiative that includes people from different departments or areas of expertise working…

A period of intense pressure and urgent work, typically right before a major deadline.

A person who brings new ideas, perspectives, or values to a team and strengthens the overall workplace culture, rather than simply fitting…

Customer success is a business strategy focused on ensuring that customers achieve their intended goals and gain maximum value from your…

To stop depending on or using something, especially an old system, tool, or vendor.

To stand out or get attention when there is a lot of competing information or distractions.

Data privacy is the right of individuals to control how their personal information is collected, used, stored, and shared by organizations.

Making decisions or taking action based on facts, numbers, and analysis rather than intuition or guesswork.

Focused, uninterrupted work on cognitively demanding tasks that require full concentration and minimal distractions.

To investigate or look closely at a topic, issue, or problem.

A person who works directly under a manager and receives supervision, feedback, and performance reviews from that manager.

Written information, guides, and instructions that explain how software works, how to use it, or how to maintain it.

The thorough investigation and analysis of a project, acquisition, or decision before committing resources or making a final decision.

A person or organization that is among the first to use or buy a new product, service, or technology before it becomes mainstream.

The shared values, practices, and ways of working that guide how engineers approach their work, solve problems, and collaborate in a…

A large-scale business organization or a challenging business project, often requiring significant resources and planning.

Ownership stake or share in a company, typically offered to employees as compensation.

A controlled test or trial designed to validate a hypothesis, feature, or approach before full implementation.

A software development philosophy that prioritizes discovering problems, errors, and design flaws as quickly as possible through rapid…

To spread or distribute tasks, work, or information to many people or places.

A practice exercise or urgent test run designed to check whether a system, process, or team can handle a crisis or meet tight deadlines.

Full-stack refers to a developer or skill set that covers all layers of software development, from the front-end (user interface) to the…

A game changer is something that completely changes how a situation works, usually for the better.

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation—a strict EU law that controls how companies collect, store, and use personal data from…

To prepare or get ready for a particular task, project, or event.

To put in additional effort or do more than what is expected or required.

A go-to-market strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how a company will introduce a new product or service to customers and gain…

A belief that your abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, practice, and learning from mistakes.

The total number of employees or staff members in a company, department, or project team.

In business, headwinds are problems or conditions that slow progress or make results worse; tailwinds are conditions that help.

To hit the ground running means to start something new and be productive immediately, without a slow start.

A work arrangement where employees split their time between working in a physical office and working remotely from home or another location.

A testable prediction or proposed explanation based on limited evidence, used as a starting point for further investigation or…

The IC track (Individual Contributor track) is a career progression path for employees who advance through technical expertise and skill…

To ideate means to come up with ideas, usually as a group, before deciding what to build or do.

An employee who performs technical or professional work and directly contributes to company projects without managing other people.

A student or recent graduate who works at a company for a limited time to gain practical experience in their field, usually while studying…

IPO stands for Initial Public Offering.

To repeat a process or improve something by making small changes and testing each version.

To do something too soon, especially without thinking carefully about it.

A layoff is when a company terminates employee positions, usually due to budget cuts, restructuring, or business downturn, rather than…

To record or document events, actions, or changes in a systematic way for future reference.

To investigate or examine a matter or issue.

Easy tasks or opportunities that can be completed quickly with minimal effort, offering immediate value or progress.

LTV stands for Lifetime Value, the total amount of money a customer is expected to spend on a company's products or services during their…

A career path in an organization where you move into leadership and management roles, overseeing teams and projects rather than doing…

A work schedule characterized by fragmented time with frequent interruptions, meetings, and context-switching, common among managers and…

A metric is a measurable value or standard used to track progress, performance, or quality in a project, product, or system.

A moonshot is a very ambitious project or goal that is hard to achieve but would have a huge impact if it worked.

To make meaningful progress or create a significant, measurable impact on a goal or metric.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable amount of revenue a company expects to generate each month from subscription-based…

A Non-Disclosure Agreement is a legal contract that prevents someone from sharing confidential information about a company, project, or…

"Net-net" means "the final result" or "the bottom line" after everything has been considered.

A guiding principle, primary objective, or core value that directs all strategic decisions and work in a company or team.

The structured process of helping an employee leave a company, including returning equipment, revoking access, transferring knowledge, and…

"On my radar" means you are aware of something and are keeping an eye on it.

The process of integrating a new employee into a company by providing them with the tools, knowledge, and access they need to start…

To adjust or design something to achieve the best results for a specific goal or situation.

At work in the US, "out of pocket" usually means you are unavailable or hard to reach for a while.

A specific problem, difficulty, or frustration that a customer, user, or team experiences repeatedly.

A paradigm shift is a big, basic change in how people think about or do something.

A person in a management position who is responsible for supervising, coaching, and developing employees.

A formal meeting between a manager and employee to discuss the employee's work quality, achievements, goals, and areas for improvement…

PIP commonly refers to a Performance Improvement Plan—a formal document outlining specific goals and expectations an employee must meet…

To make a significant change in strategy, direction, or approach, especially when the original plan is not working as expected.

To turn off or shut down a device or system.

A senior technical leader in engineering organizations who is responsible for making strategic architectural decisions, mentoring junior…

The process of obtaining goods, services, or software from external suppliers through planning, sourcing, negotiation, and contract…

A business strategy where the product itself is the primary driver of customer acquisition, retention, and expansion, rather than relying…

A job advancement where an employee moves to a higher position with more responsibility, authority, and usually higher salary.

PTO stands for "paid time off": days you are away from work and still get paid, such as vacation or personal days.

To attract or gather attention, resources, or support.

To stop or cancel something, usually a project, product, or initiative.

To push the envelope means to go beyond the usual limits and try something new, bold or more advanced.

Pushback is resistance or disagreement expressed by someone in response to a proposal, plan, or decision.

"Put a pin in it" means to pause a topic and come back to it later.

A rapid increase in activity, production, or effort, typically to reach a target level quickly.

A re-org (short for reorganization) is when a company changes its structure, reporting lines, teams, or departments.

To reach out means to contact someone, usually by email or message, to ask, offer or share something.

Work performed from a location outside the company office, typically from home or a coworking space, using technology to stay connected…

The ability or action of keeping employees, customers, or users engaged and satisfied so they continue working for or using a company.

RFP stands for Request for Proposal.

Return on Investment (ROI) is a measure of how much profit or value you gain from money or resources you invest in something.

To transfer or carry forward data, settings, or benefits from one period or cycle to another.

RSU stands for Restricted Stock Unit.

To approve something quickly and without proper examination or consideration.

"Run it up the flagpole" means to share an idea with others to see how they react before deciding.

In tech and business, runway is the amount of time or money a company, project, or team has before it runs out of resources or must…

To reduce the size, scope, or resources of a project or operation.

To expand or increase the capacity or capability of a system or operation.

Compensation paid by a company to an employee when their employment is terminated, usually involuntarily.

A lump sum of money paid to a new employee when they join a company as part of their hiring package.

"Skin in the game" means having something personal at risk in an outcome, such as money, time or reputation, so you care about the result.

A one-on-one meeting between an employee and their manager's manager, skipping the direct manager in the reporting chain.

At work, SME usually stands for "subject matter expert": the person who knows a topic or system best and answers questions about it.

A Statement of Work (SOW) is a formal document that outlines the specific tasks, deliverables, timeline, and budget for a project between…

SPOC stands for "single point of contact": the one person you go to for a project, client or issue.

A senior-level software engineer at a company who has deep technical expertise and influences architecture and strategy across multiple…

Stock options are a form of employee compensation that gives you the right to buy shares of your company at a fixed price (called the…

Synergy is when two teams, products or companies work together and achieve more than they could separately.

A technical job interview where candidates are asked to design large-scale software systems, focusing on architecture, scalability, and…

To form a partnership or alliance with another person, team, or organization.

A senior developer who leads technical decisions and architecture for a team or project while also writing code.

The combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools that a company or project uses to build and run an application.

It's now your turn to take action or make a decision.

To approach a problem or situation in an original or creative way.

The practice of establishing yourself as an expert and influencer in your industry by sharing original ideas, research, and insights that…

A small, highly skilled team assembled quickly to solve a critical or urgent problem, often bypassing normal processes and reporting…

The period during the day when team members working in different time zones have overlapping working hours, allowing them to communicate…

Total compensation is the complete package of money and benefits an employee receives from their employer, including base salary, bonuses…

A touchpoint is any moment when a customer interacts with a company, or a short regular check-in between colleagues.

To stop paying attention or become disinterested in something.

A privately held startup company valued at $1 billion or more.

To have all the latest information about something.

A specific situation or scenario describing how a user or system will interact with a product or feature to achieve a particular goal.

A detailed fictional representation of an ideal customer or user, based on research and data, that describes their goals, behaviors, pain…

The unique combination of benefits and advantages that a product or service offers to customers, explaining why they should buy it instead…

A value-add is an extra benefit that makes a product, service or person's work more useful.

A company or person that supplies software, hardware, services, or other products to another business.

Vesting is the process by which an employee gradually earns the right to keep company benefits (usually stock options or equity) over a…

A dedicated space or temporary meeting where a team intensively focuses on solving a critical, urgent problem or issue, typically…

WFH stands for "work from home": working from your home instead of the office for the day.

"In your wheelhouse" means a topic is within your skills or expertise; "not my wheelhouse" means it is outside what you know well.

A scenario where all parties involved benefit or achieve their desired outcomes.

To spend time and effort on a task, project, or problem.

A performance evaluation method where an employee receives confidential, anonymous feedback from colleagues at all levels (managers…