Everyday Office Jargon · Managing Director level

"Diminishing returns"

"Diminishing returns" means that each additional unit of effort, investment, or resources produces a smaller benefit than the one before it.

Say this instead: shrinking gains

How "Diminishing returns" shows up at work

Senior leaders invoke it to justify stopping something without saying they've run out of patience. The economics concept is real; the application is often a polite way of calling a project done.

Buzzword

We're hitting diminishing returns on this optimization effort.

Plain English

Each extra hour we spend on this optimization is producing less improvement than the last.

Corporate Rank: Managing Director · Category: Everyday Office Jargon

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