I read a Dilbert comic (by Scott Adams) the other day where the pointy-haired boss announced to the team “Let’s do a deep dive in the big data and drill down until we hyper localize some disruptive technologies.”

Putting the comics ultimate punch line aside, just focusing on the leaders rhetoric, which was meant to be a serious direction to the team, I was saddened by the accuracy of the statement in the context of a regular working meeting.

This type of jargon without real meaning is used in our society far too often.  Sounding intelligent and knowledgable is considered a valued skill.

The Sound Bite

Fast easy to access communication is is a bi-product of the internet and associated technologies (e.g., mobile devices).  More than ever before in human history we are able to access and consume information from all corners of the globe in seconds.

With the dawn of live radio and TV, (i.e., the initial forrays into efficient wide access communication technologies) one way this ability to provide an immediate message was heavily leveraged is the sound bite.

Technically a short extract from a recorded interview, chosen for its pungency or appropriateness I use the term here more broadly to refer to a short, catchy snippet of speech.

The drawback is these snippets often, like the Dilbert example,  sound great but are largely meaningless.  The real consequence is people interpret and act on what they perceive the meaning to be.

Sadly, mostly they really are intended to do is improve the pronouncers reputation.   Shallow leaders make themselves appear deep.  Misinterpretation can lead to dangerous results.