#WordNerdWednesday I had to double check this week’s WNW entry with multiple sources before I would believe it. Apparently “Wi-Fi” doesn’t stand for “wireless fidelity.” It doesn’t officially stand for anything. Brand agency Interbrand came up with Wi-Fi to promote a then-new wireless connection technology called “IEEE 802.11” to non-techies. The public wasn’t likely to … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WI-FI
Word Nerd Wednesday – PARTNER
“How do we get customers to see us as a strategic partner, not just a vendor?” I get this question all the time. My answer is simple, if not easy – to gain trusted partner status with your customers, START ACTING LIKE ONE. I don’t mean that to sound snarky. It’s the B2B equivalent of … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – BENEVOLENT CONCERN
#WordNerdWednesday Organizations need to balance competing stakeholder needs. Consider these common situations: ⇨ Acknowledging a product’s limitations might mean you lose the sale. Do you tell prospects anyway? ⇨ Keeping prices low might hurt profit margin. Raising them might cost you sales. What do you do? ⇨ A customer’s order arrived damaged. Do you make … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WEDNESDAY
When I found an article on how the days of the week got their names, I had to share it with you, my #WordNerdWednesday crew! A link to the full piece is in the first comment, but here’s a sneak peak with my color commentary below: “Wednesday, the fourth day of the week, was named … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – SPELLING ALPHABET
#WordNerdWednesday If you have a unique or frequently misspelled name, you’re probably an expert “spelling alphabet” user. To avoid getting an extra H or EA added to my name I use some variation of the following – “M as in Mary, E as in Elizabeth, G as in Girl, A as in Apple, N as … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WASTE
#WordNerdWednesday You may not know this, but I lead a quarterly book club that draws on insights from other domains to help customer-focused leaders find creative solutions to perennial problems. Our Q2 2025 book selection is “Reset” by Dan Heath, and I wanted to float one of the definitions from the book by this community … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – A LA MODE
Last Friday was Pi Day, so named because the date (3.14) matches the mathematical constant Ï€, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Dork that I am, I had to serve pie for dessert on Pi Day. Deciding whether or not to buy ice cream to go with it got me wondering – … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – SECOND-HAND STRESS
We all know that second-hand smoke is dangerous. So is second-hand stress. Emotions naturally pass between humans through special cells called mirror neurons. When friends, family, or colleagues are stressed, it rubs off on you whether you want it to or not. Second-hand stress is even worse when the person at the center is an … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – UNDER THE WEATHER
I was out of commission for a few days myself and put up an out-of-office message to let people know. The subject line was “Under the weather.” Apparently my inner word nerd is still there even when I’m sick, so my brain immediately wondered – where did the expression “under the weather” come from? Once … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WINDOW
I’m lucky enough to have a window in my office, but right now all I see are barren tree limbs blowing in the icy wind. Ironically, the word “window” evolved from the Old Norse vindauga which means “wind eye.” Only my eyes are experiencing the wind today, but for most of history I wouldn’t have … Read more
