Consulting jargon is engineered to sound rigorous. It turns ordinary advice into a billable framework, which is the whole point. The phrases below are the ones that fill strategy decks, steering-committee meetings, and the executive summary that says a great deal without committing to anything.
Getting emails like these? Buzzkill highlights corporate jargon right inside Gmail and translates it to plain English.
Add to Chrome, freeThe pattern is abstraction. "Boil the ocean" means do too much at once. "Low-hanging fruit" means the easy wins. Each one is a real idea wearing a more expensive suit. Knowing the plain version is how you tell the insight from the invoice.
The worst offenders
- Center of excellence (Executive) "Center of excellence" means a dedicated team or function recognized as the internal expert and standard-setter for a particular discipline.
- Rightsizing (Managing Director) "Rightsizing" means reducing the number of employees at a company, reframed as bringing headcount to the correct level rather than cutting jobs.
- Tiger team (Managing Director) "Tiger team" means a small, focused group assembled specifically to solve one difficult problem, typically with urgency.
- True north (Managing Director) "True north" in a business context means the core guiding goal or principle that every strategy and decision should point toward.
- Best-in-breed (Managing Director) "Best-in-breed" describes a product or solution that is the top option in its specific category, even if it does not cover every function an organization needs.
- Change management (Managing Director) "Change management" refers to a structured process for helping people in an organization adapt to new systems, processes, or ways of working.
Spot any of these in your inbox this week? Buzzkill flags them in Gmail as you read and shows the plain-English version on hover.
Add to Chrome, freeThe full Consulting & Strategy Jargon glossary
All 35 terms in this category, with the plain-English swap. Click any phrase for the full breakdown, the seniority tier, and a before-and-after example.
| Phrase | Say instead |
|---|---|
| Apples to oranges | an unfair comparison |
| At a high level | broadly |
| Ballpark | rough estimate |
| Best-in-breed | top of its category |
| Boil it down | simplify |
| Buy-in | agreement |
| Center of excellence | expert team |
| Change management | helping people adapt |
| Current state | how things work now |
| Directionally correct | roughly right |
| Framework | structured approach |
| Future state | how things will work after |
| Gap analysis | what's missing |
| Granular | detailed |
| Holistic | complete |
| Hypothesis-driven | assumption-first |
| Key levers | main factors |
| Lever | factor to pull |
| Net new | brand new |
| Net-net | the bottom line |
| Operating model | how the business runs |
| Order of magnitude | ballpark scale |
| Playbook | game plan |
| Pressure test | challenge it |
| Quick win | easy win |
| Rightsizing | cutting staff |
| Sanity check | double-check |
| Stakeholder buy-in | getting everyone on board |
| Strategic priorities | top priorities |
| Stress test | test under pressure |
| Synthesize | pull together |
| Tiger team | task force |
| True north | guiding goal |
| Value creation | creating value |
| War room | crisis room |
This is the editorial cut. For the bare index, see the Consulting & Strategy Jargon category page.