Next Wednesday is Christmas, so this will be my last #WordNerdWednesday of 2024. To wrap up (pun totally intended!), I put together a compilation of the 5 most popular words/posts this year. Here’s a quick summary.
To read the original posts go to: https://megan-burns.com/category/blog/word-nerd-wednesday/best-of-2024/
- Watermelon – A “watermelon” situation exists when the main indicator for a project is green (e.g., good NPS), but detailed data shows a sea of bright red below (i.e., low customer effort scores). Given your reactions to this post, it’s a common scenario! Having a pithy, memorable name will make talking about the issue easier.
- Agentic – Something is agentic when it has agency – the ability to reason, make decisions, and take action. The term is becoming popular in AI. Salesforce’s new “Agent Force” platform Agentic AI vs. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot. Those generate content, but they can’t reason about that info or take action. I suspect that Agentic AI will be a hot topic in 2025.
- Tension – “It’s a tense situation.” Most of us hear that and assume something’s wrong. Not always. Researchers looked at great executive teams and they found “generative tension” is a key element. What’s that? It’s when individual executives challenge ideas and each other in a constructive, respectful way. The goal isn’t to prove who is smarter or better. It’s to make the best possible choices for the business. In 2025, I want to foster more of constructive tension and debate with my clients and this community.
- Rabbit Hole – At some point, debate has to lead to a decision. When it doesn’t, you’re stuck in a “rabbit hole.” The same people argue the same points meeting after meeting and nothing ultimately gets done. Clients often bring me in to break this kind of stalemate, and I’ve developed some simple techniques for getting even the most contentious teams into alignment. I did a series of posts with three of them and tips for using each to get out of a collective spiral.
- Roadblock – The path to success is always full of roadblocks. In this post, I argued that many leaders struggle to overcome them because they don’t understand what is really getting in the way. After 20+ years of getting past roadblocks, I identified the five that most people miss (or misdiagnose) most – Awareness, Alternatives, Ability, Assurance, and Energy.
Did any of these (or any other WNW post) resonate particularly with you?
Warmest wishes for the holiday season,
Megan
P.S. To peruse the full list of WNW going back 3 years, go to: https://megan-burns.com/category/blog/word-nerd-wednesday
