The Inovis Blog

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a Gartner BPM conference that was geared towards helping companies “Align, Innovate and Build for Operational Excellence”.  The conference was good and the work being done on the BPM front is exciting, yet one simple quote by a keynote speaker caught my ear.  The quote was:

“The value of the information about a transaction may be more valuable than the goods and services being transacted.” 

The noted speaker was Watts Wacker, a futurist and best-selling author, and the concept to which Watts was referring makes complete sense.  Think about it from a general perspective, we all shop at the grocery store from time to time and we conclude our shopping experience with what?…a transaction.  That transaction has a nominal value ($5, $50, $150…whatever), but the information about that transaction can have a far greater value.  How valuable do you think it is for the folks that make Tombstone pizza to know I like their pizza?  Do you think they would be willing to pay for that information?  I do.  In fact, a lot of companies already pay for that type of information.  How about the competitor…do you think the folks that make Bernatello’s pizza would pay more to reach me?…probably.  And when you layer in technology, the value of information increases immensely.  What if either of these companies knew the moment I walked into the grocery store…do you think they could entice me purchase their product?  You get the point:  Information has REAL value.

Now think about all the data that you or your company has access to.  Are there ways for you to leverage that data more effectively?  Can the data provide you with visibility into common problems or potential opportunities?  Can it help you eliminate unnecessary costs or, better yet, to grow revenue?  I bet it can.  Think about it.

We’re a leading worldwide provider of business-to-business EDI and supply chain integration, synchronization and collaboration solutions. huh?

We are guilty of this daily. Our PR guys are given the task of deciphering technical jargon into common everyday speech.

1st thought: We are . . . a leading worldwide provider of business-to-business EDI and supply chain integration, synchronization and collaboration solutions. It is common everyday speech.

2nd thought: Common everyday speech for me, for my colleagues at Inovis, our B2B EDI affiliates and partners, even our competitors at GXS and Sterling Commerce.

3rd thought: We might be too close to note the difference between jargon and everyday speech.

4th thought: We might be abusing jargon. Phew! Feels good to get that off my chest

5th thought: What do we do about this?

How about the . . . 12 Steps to Jargon Enlightenment?
They are:

1. Use everyday words that convey meanings clearly and directly.
2. Use the present tense
3. Write in the active voice.
4. Write short, simple sentences.
5. Write with nouns and verbs
6. Avoid adjectives and adverbs.
7. Avoid the use of qualifiers.
8. Define words that cannot be properly explained.
9. Avoid jargon (The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group.)
10. Explain jargon when you use it (B2B EDI VAN = business to business, electronic data interchange, value added network).
11. State the obvious. (Facts may be obvious to the writer, but not the reader.)
12. Don’t overwrite with peacock terms (the most influential…) and weasel words (…is widely regarded as…)

Feel free to share more steps to jargon enlightenment that we might have overlooked (or even used!).

In review then, the above sentence: We’re a leading worldwide provider of business-to-business EDI and supply chain integration, synchronization and collaboration solutions.

Might read better as:

We create value and customer profit by providing solutions to manage critical information throughout your business community.

What do you think?

Find definitions of EDI & other acronyms here.

The Bottom Line: Business Community Management is about simplifying business for everyone, big or small, involved in the business of supply, demand, goods and services.

picture credit: Dilbert Blog, Scott Adams