Business Needs Geek Language
Business language is full of dead and zombie metaphors – dead metaphors being metaphors that have been used so long that all their initial descriptive power has been lost, and zombie metaphors being metaphors that died, and were resurrected as part of other metaphors. ‘Wheelhouse’ is a great example – it used to refer to the area that holds the steering wheel of a boat or ship, but then it was used to describe any kind of expertise, and over time it has become the foundation for a whole set of business-speak divorced from nautical imagery.
I’m wondering when language from tabletop RPGs, video games, and MassMOGs will invade the business lexicon – especially MassMOG language, which is all about real-time project management. Relatively few people in business have ever seen a wheelhouse, but as the subscriber base for games like WoW and SWTOR grows, so to will the number of young knowledge workers who are at least conversant in the language of games.
Some first steps to a lexicon, beginning with :
Tank – Team member who performs vital operational tasks that involve bearing down and grinding at an objective. Line of business. Product development. Design.
DPS – Team member who strikes-to-win; without Tanks they can’t even attempt many tasks, but without DPS, Tanks will grind through a lot of pain and without winning anything. Sales is the most obvious example of this role.
Healer – Support. Without them, Tanks and DPS spend a lot of time dying or gasping for breath. Also serve as force multipliers. Sales support. Marketing. IT.
Standing in the fire – An undesirable situation that has come about as a result of pursuing business goals. If you’re trying to kill a dragon, you’ll sometimes find yourselves standing in the fire, and the goal is to minimize ‘time in the fire’ as much as possible. Crunchtime is a good example. Situations where the ROI of success has become too low, but the risks of failure have grown too high.
Training aggro – Working as primary tank on a project.
I’m sure I could think up more, but I need to apply a nose to a grindstone, and I’m afraid the nose in question belongs to me. So – what language from games would *you* want to see in the workplace?