Every company has its own unique dictionary of lingo – words and phrases that have have a special shared meaning within an organization and reflect its culture. Here in the Single Source office, we seem to have a lot of vernacular. From inspiring quotes to yearly themes to inside jokes, check out ten of our top bits of jargon!
1. Living Forward
Quality of life is the foundation on which we build everything. We believe in fostering a healthy work environment for our team and protecting their work-life balance. Promoting positivity here at Single Source leads to engaged, satisfied employees who in turn are focused on finding effective solutions for our clients.
2. Everything Counts
This simple yet significant philosophy reminds us that being thoughtful and deliberate in – well, everything – is vital to success. When we say “Everything counts” in the office, we are referring to the quote from strategic thinker Gary Ryan Blair: “Everything you say; every thought you entertain; and everything you do has a direction, which serves as an advance or retreat in respect to your pursuit of excellence. Everything – regardless of size or intent – has bottom-line consequences; therefore, everything counts. This is the golden rule of excellence.”
3. Managing by the Numbers
Data is the heartbeat of Single Source. We are driven by analytics and use it to inform our actions by making decisions based on data and incorporating all of the facts available to us. We find that the best solutions flow from evaluating the numbers in the context of our client’s unique situation and needs.
4. Build to Last
Does your company come up with themes for years? Our theme for 2016 was “Build to Last.” We envision our company’s journey like flying a plane, and in the past, we’ve sometimes been a little guilty of building the plane on the fly… so to speak. Of course it’s better to plan and prepare ahead before taking flight. When launching our latest product, IncentViz, we aimed to do more work on the plane in advance. To continue this theme, 2017’s will be “Preparing for Takeoff.” While the development is done for IncentViz and and we have some early adopters (passengers), we need to make sure we have all the pieces in place before leaving the tarmac.
5. No Squirrels
You may have heard us mention this one before. “Squirrels” is our lingo for “distractions,” and the inspiration comes from Dug, the lovable golden retriever from the Pixar film Up. He’s a smart dog with a high tech collar that allows him to talk, yet he still can’t resist when a distracting squirrel comes along. We use “no squirrels” all the time as a mantra to help focus on priorities when things pop up and start pulling us in different directions, but not in the direction of our goals.
6. Keep Calm and Empower Service
It all comes back to you. We are here to solve problems and serve you by providing the best, industry-specific tech solutions out there. In turn, service is a key component of our clients’ success. This priority gives us a deep understanding that allows us to support industries where service is king. We predominantly work with service-driven clients in industries that share our service-driven values. The companies we cater to are comprised of professionals including mechanics, electricians, and plumbers. By contributing our core competency – tech solutions – we empower you to focus on what you do best.
7. CTOC
If you couldn’t already tell, we like to have fun here at Single Source! One playful bit of lingo here is “CTOC,” which stands for “Check the Org Chart.” Cory Rhodes, our President, will sometimes jokingly say “CTOC” when someone gives him a hard time about something, like a poor NCAA Tournament Bracket performance (another thing we’re really into here in the office). Overall, the culture at our company is such that management is very approachable. Our staff feels comfortable bringing up ideas and concerns, as well as joking around with all levels of the company.
8. Rowing in the same direction
We throw this one around to refer to the need for unifying all the individuals within an organization under a clear view of a common goal. Speaking of IncentViz, that was the problem we set out to solve when we created it; IncentViz gives visibility to sales executives and the sales force to ensure that the whole organization is rowing in the same direction: towards the weekly, monthly, and yearly targets and the products that the executive group wants to sell.
It’s funny when you think about it. In rowing, it’s much better to go backwards together than forwards apart!
9. Having the right people on the bus
We also talk about “Having the right people on the bus,” and in addition, making sure “everybody is in the right seat on the bus.” We hire people that share the basic philosophies of Single Source, understand what we do, and have a desire for the same. Once we have hired them, we want to make sure they are in the right role. You might have a great person as an employee, but they might not be well suited for the job we hired them to do. It’s important to recognize this and make necessary adjustments to end up with the best possible bus.
That wraps up our “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” trifecta!… Well, in our case it’s “Planes, Rowboats, and Buses.”
10. Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play
“Realness” is ingrained into our corporate culture. We respect our prospects’ and customers’ time so we approach every engagement with a discerning eye. We want to ensure that we are providing unique value to our clients’ organizations. Rather than jam a square peg in a round hole, we seek the right fit – clients who truly will benefit from our offerings and our partnership.
What lingo does your company use the most? Tell us via Facebook or Twitter!