Mission Statements

So much of the language of business today seems to be an inpenetrable wall of jargon that, when analysed, means very little outside a courtroom. Has the language of business become completely detached from the people it is meant to be speaking to?

One Estate Agent in my area has adopted the slogan 'People not Property'. I presume they wanted us to feel that they really cared about us as people rather than as plain punters. Given the record of many in the propertry business, that is probably a good idea, but to say 'not Property' as the way to do this strikes me as banal. If I went to there offices it would be for a property and not to have my ego massaged.

Then there are the keywords and phrases that people feel they need to include to look professional, which ends up twisted and ugly"

??a suite of targets across a basket of core activities?
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport?s definition of Public Library Standards, from Framework for the Future: Libraries, Learning and Information in the Next Decade

It is supposed to sound sweeping and safe, I assume, ambitious yet within an organised framework. To me it is just plain painful to read. The 'South Tees clinical governance resource pack' offers a perfect example of how not to use a simile:

Like a river, in which the water is always there but is never the same, governance will always be there but will change, re-invent and evolve. Unlike many rivers which slow to a trickle, and then become shallow, muddy and dry up, the governance agenda continues to gain in depth, breadth and clarity. The need for disciplined, thoughtful and patient-centred approaches to care ratchets up every year.

Laboured, meandering, deathly dull and I am not too sure that inluding the rivers that dry up adds much to our confidence.

However, what worries me most is the amount of time and money being spoent on this. In the UK there is a cottage industry within every industry churning out this kind of nonsense that just ends up unread in the bin or, if sent electronically, the recycle bin.