To trade in language
You only have to travel outside of Australia for a short
period to understand quickly the value of currency. Its constant ebb and flow
and its worth become very apparent and precious to you. Language is in a
similar position. Language is as valuable as the paper note in your hand. In
SAPOL, we now see the trading of currency, in the form of language, which
either buys you power and presence or leaves you on the dole queue.
The current big-value language is terms such as “best
practice”, “customer focus”, “service delivery” and
“strategic outcomes”. The power brokers and power seekers trade these
terms fervently. Those who don’t trade in the currency are excluded and
left to feel unrewarded.
Being traded in the recent past was a different currency,
which is as useful as a Turkish Lira presently – the value of terms such
as “networking”, “bottom-up management” and
“neighbourhood watch” is negligible. These currencies have been
exhausted, and those who choose to trade in them are left out in the cold.
In truth, the power of language in societies and workplaces
isn’t a new thing. The current language of management isn’t confined
to SAPOL. This language has swept the world. It grew out of Thatcher’s
Britain and developed into the “customer culture”, which governs
western workplaces worldwide and augments globalization. It’s old wine in
new bottles.
Language has been used to exclude or include since the day
dot. If you aren’t mouthing the mantra you won’t get anywhere. This
is how the game is played and, if you want to survive, you have to get into the
bear pit of the trading room. If you don’t believe me, talk to a few of
your colleagues who have put in applications for jobs recently, only to be
knocked back because they haven’t regurgitated the mantra in the process.
If you don’t complete your form correctly and don’t trade in the
language, you don’t get an interview, let alone the job. Incredible, but
it’s a fact.
The challenge for those in the trading room at the moment is
remaining in there when the guru leaves the building. You don’t want to be
left bankrupt when the next guru wafts in and sets another exchange rate. Those
who are currently embracing the mantra and trading it on the futures market
will get burnt – nothing more certain.
Be circumspect in your investment, and don’t put all you
eggs in one basket. If you really want to get rich quickly, design your own
currency. Here’s one to start with – employee
empowerment.
