Everyday Office Jargon · Managing Director level

"Too many irons in the fire"

"Too many irons in the fire" means a person or team is juggling more tasks or projects than they can handle well at once.

Say this instead: overcommitted

How "Too many irons in the fire" shows up at work

The managing director's way of saying someone is spread too thin without saying it plainly. Sometimes directed at a team, sometimes at themselves as a humblebrag about how busy things are.

Buzzword

We have too many irons in the fire right now to take on another initiative.

Plain English

We're already stretched too thin to take on another initiative.

Corporate Rank: Managing Director  ·  Category: Everyday Office Jargon

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