Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Everybody wants to be an executioner.

Or so it seems from all the marketing copy I’ve been reading and editing lately. When asked what they do best, companies continually answer:

We execute.

When asked what differentiates their company from the rest; what they excel in, they say:

Execution.

What concerns me about this is that, if you take their meaning to be that they “get things done” and that they “excel in the implementation of their solutions to customers’ problems,” that’s not really something to brag about, is it? That kind of execution barely keeps you in business, let alone propelling your company to the front of the pack.

Therefore I must consider: are these companies doing some side jobs for the mob?

I know that’s not what these companies mean, but seriously – come up with something original to do, and an original way to express what you do, or I will assume that you’re whacking people in the back room.

On a lighter note, all this talk of execution makes me think of the almost-fate of Bartholomew Cubbins, the 500-hat-wearer of Seuss fame. Check out the book if you’re bored; it’s one of my childhood favorites.

5 comments:

Laurie said...

"will assume that you’re whacking people off in the back room. " I would probably take "off" out of that statement :P Good call on executing thing tho - what does that even mean anyway? As a matter of fact, isn't that what they SHOULD be doing? I mean - actually "executing" their plans for their clients.

b. said...

checking out bartholomew.
executing my business today. i hate the word. decidedly hate it. the violent implications are more than my anabaptist self can bear.
can you just not tell it to me ever again?

thanks.

oh and plus? i miss you like crazy.
no,
like ... crazy.
:/

Dulcimer said...

Laurie! Where did that "off" come from? Yikes. I'm not a professional proofreader or anything.

Brannabee! I miss you, too!

Laurie said...

There's a sign on my drive home in the homies part of the 'vale that says "We Help Executors".
Its for a law firm who assists people doling out cash from an estate, however in the context of where it is - I think it really means we help those who execute.

Dulcimer said...

That is awesome.

There is, indeed, a fine line between executors and executioners.

:)