Are You Speaking Their Language?

Situation: You need to get a better handle on your "work-speak".


We recently spoke with J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, PgMP, Executive Vice President at ESI International and author of Dictionary of Project Management Terms. He was kind enough to offer his ideas about the importance of a common business language. In Mr. Ward’s view, it is easier to walk the talk when you are all in agreement of what the talk means.


Q.  What is the most effective approach one can take to learning the language in any given field – without looking like an idiot?  Is it through books, peers, trade pubs or some other mechanism?

The fastest way is generally through trade publications, peers and Google.  Don’t be afraid to ask people what they mean when they use terms you don’t understand.  Start writing some terms down and refer to your list from time to time.  However, you must buy a good dictionary in your field.  While no one in their right mind would sit and read a dictionary like a regular book (it would  be as boring as listening to your hair grow), it is important to add it to your quick reference library.  The other quick way I learned new terms is to create my own Google Library.  Every time I encounter a word I don’t know, I Google it, print the page and stuff it in a folder.  It’s the  quickest, cheapest education around.  There are thousands of online dictionaries Google finds for you, but you can always start with Wikipedia.  No matter what word I’m looking up, it seems Wikipedia always has it. 


Q.  As a Project Manager, are there particular areas you should focus on learning – like financial terms, customer related terms, etc.?

Every project manager needs to know the „hard core“ PM terms such as precedence diagramming, monte carlo techniques, float, etc.  Beyond these, however, it really depends.  If you’re in the financial services industry (what’s left of it anyway!) and you’re  working for an investment bank or hedge fund, you’d better know some of the key terms in that field.  If you’re working in the pharmaceuticals industry, you’d better know the difference between a clinical trial and a toxicology screening (you would rather participate in the former than the latter, believe me!).  If you happen to find yourself implementing SAP throughout the accounting organization, you had better bone up on such terms as accounts receivable, bad debt, and general ledger.  The key here is to be conversant with the main, most often used terms.  No one expects you to be an expert, but they do expect you to understand the fundamentals of their business.


Q.  Can you describe a particular situation you were involved in where not knowing the “language” harmed a Project Manager?

I consulted with a major computer manufacturer for years.  Everyone I came into contact with complained that they were losing „margin“ on hardware sales and that’s why they were going into the services business.  When I asked how they defined and calculated margin to a person they looked at me as if I had 2 heads, until about 18 months later a project manager shouted out „Rev minus cost divided by revenue“ to which I responded „why isn’t it revenue minus cost divided by cost“?  He said because we pay our sales staff their commission based on margin, and given that revenue should be higher than cost (that’s what keeps them in business), and given that revenue is the denominator in the equation, that means they get less commission.  Now, think of this, every  project manager in that company was responsible for ensuring they were delivering the most margin on each project, yet no one knew how to calculate it.  Therefore, how effective were they in that critical aspect of their job?  Not very.   All they were doing was „parroting“ some exec they heard constantly lamenting the fact their margins were eroding.  And, by the way, no one ever told me if they were talking about gross or operating margins either.


Q.  Both industry speak and cultural differences in speech and body language are important.  In your opinion, which is more important and why?

I would say the latter because regardless of your background, nationality, ethnicity, race, or even if you’re right or left-handed, each industry has its own jargon.  IT people speak their IT cant the same in France as they do in the U.S. yet, the cultural differences and body language are vastly different.  One day while in Switzerland for a meeting one of the Directors for our client said they would need to stop the meeting to address a serious business matter.  Of course, we said no problem.  When they were done she came over to me, and her perfect French-accented English she said „I am terribly sorry for the interruption.“  I responded by saying „Sure, what are you going to do?“  She retorted in a somewhat defensive tone „why, I’m not going to do anything, I just told you I was sorry“  So, you see, my innocuous „Hey, what are you going to do?“ idiom was taken as an affront.  Even though someone for whom English is not their first language and appears to speak it perfectly does not mean they understand the nuances of the idioms that we tend to speak among ourselves in the U.S., and the same holds true for every language. Don’t assume colloquialisms will translate well. Most often, they do not.


Q. In which industries is language MOST important?  In which industries might it be easier to get by without it?

I believe the more technical and or advanced the industry the greater the degree it has formed its own language, terms and definitions.  My mother was a registered nurse and a head supervisor on various medical wards for more than 45 yeas.  In high school I would have to go pick her up from the hospital.  As is the protocol in that field, when there is a shift change, the people leaving brief the professionals coming onto the floor the status of each patient.  Typically, the head nurse, such as my mother, would present the briefing.  I would sit there and listen to her provide detailed medical status on each patient to her colleagues.  It all sounded Greek to me, but to the others it all made perfect sense. There might be industries for which it is easier to get by without a common language, but the truth is the more proficient you are with language, the higher your chances of success.