“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. Measurement is a hot topic in every area of business, but few people think about what it means to measure something or why doing so is useful. Except me. I’ve been talking about … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Measure
Word Nerd Wednesday: October
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. This morning I woke up and wondered…why is the 10th month of the year called October when “octo” means 8? Apparently it’s a holdover from the early Roman calendar which only had 10 … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Emollient
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. While checking the definition of emotion in the dictionary I came across the word “emollient”*. It struck me as the perfect word for today. As fall and winter arrive we’ll look for ways … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Kidsplain
I made this word up, but the phenomenon exists. I felt it last night while letting my 9-year-old neice take me on a tour of her favorite computer games. I know nothing about video games and told her that, but she assumed I know nothing about any technology and went on to lecutre me on … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Jargon
When the word “jargon” first appeared in the 14th century it referred to the jumbled chirping of birds. Over time it took on a general meaning – confused unintelligible language. These days we think of jargon as the words that members of a group use to describe specialized concepts. Jargon serves a social purpose, too. … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Vacation
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. I’ve always been a fan of staycations, likely because I travel so much for work (well, I did, pre-pandemic). The word staycation is technically redundant, though. The original meaning of “vacation” is simply … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Slideument
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. Today’s word is one I made up…slideument. We need this new word to distinguish between presentations and written documents that just happen to be in Powerpoint or similar format. There is nothing wrong … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Journey
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. While designing a survey on customer journeys, I started debating with colleagues what counts as a “journey”. My first thought was, of course, to check the dictionary. #wordnerd) The formal definition of … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Neighborly
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. The definition isn’t what I thought it would be. It’s not just “characteristic of a neighbor”. It’s characteristic of a *good* neighbor. But are most neighbors (geography) really neighborly (experience) these days? In … Read more
Four Ways To Improve An Anxious Customer’s Experience
Anxiety levels are high due to coronavirus, but let’s not forget – plenty of people were stressed out before this started. Many will be after, too. Organizations need to think about emotional context – how someone feels when they start a journey with your company – at all times.
