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Beyond the Buzzword: Synergy
33 Plays4 months ago
On this episode, Jake and Rachael dive into the world of corporate buzzwords, starting with the quintessential term: “Synergy.” Join us as we explore the origins of this powerful word, its journey through different contexts—from theological cooperation to medical marvels and finally to the business lexicon.
Jake and Rachel discuss how synergy has been both a beacon of collaborative potential and an overused crutch in corporate jargon. Through an insightful and humorous conversation, they shed light on its true meaning, its misuse, and whether it still holds relevance in today’s business environment.
Tune in for a refreshing take on synergy, complete with historical insights, real-world examples, and practical advice on using language more effectively in the workplace. Whether you’re a synergy skeptic or a true believer, this episode promises to offer valuable perspectives and a few laughs along the way.
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Transcript
Introduction of Beyond the Buzzword Segment
00:00:10
Speaker
Corporate jargon is something that we're all guilty of uttering throughout our workday. You might circle back to an email, or you might double-click into a specific topic. This is just another day in the corporate world, and there's nothing wrong with that. On today's episode, we're trying out a new segment called Beyond the Buzzword, where we'll double-click into a buzzword and its origin, and how it devolved into corporate jargon. Today, we're tackling the original buzzword, synergy. And we'll discuss its rise and fall throughout history, as well as how it might be reclaimed. So let's dive in.
Personal Catch-up with Hosts
00:00:47
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Water Cooler Wisdom. I am Jake Blocker. And I am Rachel Grail. Rachel, great to see you again. I missed you, Jake. It's been a minute.
00:00:59
Speaker
Yeah, for those listening, we've had a little bit of a hiatus of recording. It's been a busy time. So we've had a light hiatus, but we're back to it and powering through some recordings. And how's your life been, Jake? Oh, you know, busy, hot. It's it's early summer months, but it's very hot. And by the time this goes out, it's where I'd be hotter. So it'll still be relevant. Glad to hear it. Yes. How about yourself? Yeah, same. Very busy. Work is flowing. The garden is growing. I'm already pawning zucchinis off on my neighbors, so can't complain. Life is good. Those zucchinis, they are basically weeds once you get them going. I just love it. Yeah, zucchini everything. Literally.
New Format: Focus on One Buzzword
00:01:45
Speaker
Well, this is going to be a little bit of a shorter episode and also a different episode. ah So instead of usually you have a guest on no guests this time, it's just you get the two of us this time. And we're going to try something a little different. We'll see if it works. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. And we don't do it again. But if it does. We're going to improvise. We're going to have a good time. We're going to throw some shade. We're going to be self-aware and really see how it goes, huh? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So this one, we are going to focus on corporate buzzwords, just one specifically for this episode. And maybe this will be a series where we talk about different buzzwords.
00:02:24
Speaker
but the the purpose is to speak of the origins of these buzzwords, how they came about, what they actually, the the intention was for them, and maybe how it went off the rails, some examples of its usage, and so also speak to, you know, is this is this word gone? Is it dead? Do we bury it and move on? Or is there a way to revive this?
Exploration of 'Synergy': Origins and Usage
00:02:45
Speaker
So we'll speak a little bit to that, and yeah. And the word is synergy. Synergy. There's no better way to kick off something about buzzwords than the word synergy, like the the matriarch basically of buzzwords.
00:02:59
Speaker
And we should mention that synergy but is actually a word that is very near and dear to my heart. I remember when I first learned about it, I was blown away. I was like, wow, this is such a cool word. And so if you still use the word synergy, you know, I still use the word synergy. We're not hating on it, but it is one of those things that's become Oh, how shall we say? um ill say cru is It's been used as a crutch, yeah. And it's been sort of, it's been um squeezed until it's the potency of its meaning has has gotten a little bit diluted, I think. So yeah, let's learn about how do we get here, Jake?
00:03:48
Speaker
Yeah, so let me give you a little history lesson and also preface this with apologies of mispronouncing a whole lot of things. So that's gonna happen. I'm gonna do my best, but I'm human. You can always write in and and correct us. we love We love to hear from you. I love being corrected. All right. The word synergy, its origins are from the Greek word synergia, which means working together. Obvious there, uh, from s sin ah S Y N meaning together and Aragon E R G O N. Aragon apologies again. Like I said, I'm going to mispronounce things meaning work.
00:04:32
Speaker
It also sounds like a, like the name of like a music festival that would happen in Costa Rica or something. They're gone. Synergia. Synergia. Like, oh, I had to go there. Who's headlining that? So this was first recorded in the mid 17th century, initially used to describe cooperation and joint work in theological contexts, particularly the idea of human cooperation with divine grace to achieve salvation, which just sounds lovely. Wow, that is amazing. I didn't know that. Yeah, it's beautiful, beautiful context. It's beautiful. Yeah, powerful. So let's move on to the 19th century, when this term began to be used for medical and scientific contexts. And it's described different elements such as organs or drugs, and how they work together to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. Makes total sense, medical use.
00:05:28
Speaker
Absolutely. And, and in a way, I mean, it's almost, it's almost magic, some of the, the, the power of modern medicine and how for sure we can combine drugs to have them have completely new uses. And, um, that's, that's fairly divine in a way. Yeah. i would say And how the organs work together. Right. From the spirit to the body of fascinating.
Synergy in Business: Rise and Fall
00:05:51
Speaker
Well, now we'll go to the really cool place of the business world. which is you know around the 20th century, the 1950s, 1960s, and when this came to more popularity in the business world, particularly through the work of business strategists like H. Igor Ansoff. Again, apologies on pronunciation. They emphasize the strategic value of combining different business units or resources to achieve greater
00:06:15
Speaker
overall efficiency and effectiveness. So really, it is core. That's what it meant. But then kind of move on to the 80s and 90s is when it really went off the rails and was used more for marketing and the leadership jargon that we know of it today. Isn't that just like business? and And I think, again, I'm guilty of this, too. We all want to infuse the work that we do every day with this purpose and meaning and power. So we take something that had divine origins, moving through the the ah power of medicine, and then we're like, and what we're doing is synergy. yeah
00:06:56
Speaker
Exactly. It's exactly what we're doing right now. We're synergizing. Yeah. Do you have any examples of like really great ah lines where this is used, because I feel like I've i've heard some, but... Yeah, I used a lovely chat TPT to give me some, so they did not disappoint. I can't wait to hear this. So here's one. ah I'm sure we've all heard this. and I'm sure. We leverage synergy to optimize our cross-functional capabilities and maximize strategic alignments.
00:07:32
Speaker
Oh my gosh. So what does that actually mean, please? It means whatever you want it to, whatever you think it means to make me sound smart. That's what it means. Yes, exactly. Leverage is another one. Optimize is another one. Optimize cross-functional. This is the jargon-filled sentence, so well done, Chachi. React to the points on that one. Yeah, I want one more. Oh yeah, I'm eating it up. Our synergistic approach ensures holistic and dynamic solutions across the enterprise. Oh my gosh. You know what hurts so bad is that I feel like I could go through things that I've written and it would have all of those words.
00:08:16
Speaker
holistic is one that I thought I was like, Oh yeah, I used to love that word. And then I'm realizing dynamic is another one. It's like, and I think about this because it is so important to try to say what we really mean. and And sometimes when I'm using these words, it's because I'm trying to cram as much meaning as I can into one little short blurb and In a way, by doing that cramming, i I almost negate everything that I'm trying to say. If I'm not being specific, if I'm not being accessible to people, um i'm just I'm just leaving it up to interpretation, which is maybe okay sometimes, but generally not the most effective way.
00:09:10
Speaker
Yeah, you know I mean, what we're always taught, especially in business, is to be concise. you know You don't want long emails explaining every minute detail. We're not going to read it. We know this. Our attention span is a few seconds, if that. ah So these words kind of like, oh, yeah, it is. The TikTok generation is, they're doing great things, but TikTok generation is a real thing. Uh, but you know, that's what these words are meant to help synthesize. That's probably another buzzword there. oh boy yeah
00:09:41
Speaker
There we go. What we're trying to say into you know one or two words, but as we're doing that, and and sometimes that that works, but I think instead we are not being clear in our communication. So we're saying, you know, we're going to be synergistic in how we work together. How are we working together? can you Can you elaborate? I need more details on what we are actually doing. So there are times you actually need to explain.
00:10:12
Speaker
yeah So it's like, great, I'm gonna be synergistic in my own office alone, synergistic with my spreadsheet or something. I think that's it. It's like when we leave it up to interpretation, um we'll we're gonna get as many as many interpretations as there are people who are the listeners of that. So in trying to say too much, we say nothing at all. Yeah. Well, let's, let's ask, let's pose the question. Is synergy gone?
Is 'Synergy' Still Relevant?
00:10:42
Speaker
Is it a word? I will say like, in when I'm looking at things, I don't see it as much anymore. I think people understand not to lean on this word. They use other words instead of which we, maybe that's a future episode, but
00:10:55
Speaker
Is it, can we, are we bearing it and RIP moving on? I mean, maybe it's just in a coma, like it's in critical care for a little bit and people understand that it needs it needs a little bit of intensive care and we only need to use it when it's. really, really applicable, really the right word. And then maybe when we use a word like synergy, like holistic to um back it up with a little sort of subheading that explains here's what I mean by that. when people look back on the talk or whatever they've heard, they say, okay, I understand what synergy means in that context because I had the level of specificity that that drove home the real point rather than it was a synergistic approach to the next of innovation. Yeah, yeah yeah but I completely agree with that. And I think you know going back to its original purpose,
00:11:54
Speaker
what those definitions we talked about, you know, the theological medical, it makes sense. Like when you're, when we're talking about the synergy of the organs and the drugs working together, that makes total sense. You're defining how they work together. You're using it to define that versus using it in place of something else and without the full context. So I think if it's, if it's used in that way, it can work, who but it's going to, yeah, like you mentioned, critical cook care for sure. It's going to take some, ah reviving. It needs some fluids. It needs some rest. And I think it really it needs us to not be lazy. I need I'm i'm certainly in this conversation, looking at the ways that I can be um he'd lean on the crutch, like you said, and and say, Oh, I'm just gonna
00:12:45
Speaker
use this word because i I make an assumption that everybody understands what I'm talking about or that everyone is thinking about things the same way that I am. And we are all about helping people to work together in a way that ah allows people to be really aligned, to really understand the point of view of the other person and and to work together in a way that's effective. And so maybe for me, I'm thinking I need to not be lazy in my speaking and speak in a way that brings everybody along.
00:13:19
Speaker
that people feel like they understand what I'm saying. And if they don't understand what I'm saying, they can ask questions because I'm not using words that make them say, Oh, I can't ask a question because this is a corporate buzzword. And if I ask about it, then it's going to sound like, I don't know what I'm talking about. Yeah. I think that's, that's perfect. You summed it up very well. Did I synergize it? Oh God. Oh no, that was so bad. Well, I think that's a great way to end it and keep this short and sweet and to the point. All right. ah Yeah. So let us know if this episode is good. If, if it's something you're interested in, we'll do more of these. I've learned a little bit when I was doing the research on this word. I think I've learned a little bit on how to better use my language. Yeah. Yeah. I learned a lot. and That research was really fascinating, Jake. Thank you for bringing that really nice little sip at the water cooler today. Yeah. I enjoyed it.
00:14:18
Speaker
All right, y'all. Well, thanks for playing along with us while we try out new things and just have a good time with what we're doing and let us know, as Jake said, what you thought of it. And we'll meet you at the water cooler
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
00:14:30
Speaker
next time for whatever it is that we do next time. Whatever it is. All right. See you later. Thanks for listening to Water Cooler Wisdom. This podcast is brought to you by Interaction Associates, a leading professional development and leadership training organization whose mission is to help people work better together. If you'd like to learn more, visit interactionassociates.com. If you have questions, comments, or are interested in collaborating with this podcast, you can email us at watercoolerwisdom at interactionassociates dot.com.