a race to the bottom
A competition between companies that keeps lowering quality or standards to cut costs.
Example: Cutting wages to compete with rivals only leads to a race to the bottom.
C222 words · Proficient
Business Idioms vocabulary — C2
Business idioms for corporate strategy and office politics, with phrases like a poisoned chalice, kick the can down the road and low-hanging fruit.
22 questions
Words in this set
22a poisoned chalice
A task, position, or reward that seems attractive but actually brings serious trouble.
Example:
The new manager soon realised the promotion was a poisoned chalice.
throw someone under the bus
To blame or betray a colleague in order to protect yourself.
Example:
When the project failed, he threw his assistant under the bus in the meeting.
circle back
To return to a topic or issue again at a later time.
Example:
Let's circle back to the budget question after lunch.
low-hanging fruit
Easy tasks or goals that can be achieved quickly with little effort.
Example:
Before tackling the harder problems, the team focused on the low-hanging fruit.
move the needle
To make a noticeable, significant difference to a result or situation.
Example:
None of the small changes really moved the needle on sales.
a golden parachute
A large payment or set of benefits guaranteed to a senior executive if they lose their job.
Example:
The CEO's contract included a golden parachute worth millions.
asleep at the wheel
Not paying attention to your responsibilities, careless when you should be alert.
Example:
The regulators were asleep at the wheel during the crisis.
kick the can down the road
To delay dealing with a problem instead of solving it now.
Example:
Politicians keep kicking the can down the road on the pension issue.
back of the envelope
A rough, quick calculation or estimate, not based on detailed or exact figures.
Example:
This is just a back of the envelope estimate of the cost.
dead wood
People or things no longer useful to an organisation.
Example:
Every reorganisation is described as cutting dead wood.
a rainmaker
Someone who brings in a great deal of business.
Example:
They hired a rainmaker and gave him no support at all.
a fixer
Someone who quietly arranges difficult things.
Example:
Every organisation has a fixer and no job title for it.
a bean counter
An accountant, especially one thought to be obstructive.
Example:
A bean counter killed the whole programme in one meeting.
a revolving door
A situation where people constantly join and leave.
Example:
That department has been a revolving door since the merger.
empire building
Increasing your own power inside an organisation.
Example:
The reorganisation was empire building with a strategy attached.
a turf war
A fight between groups over control of an area of work.
Example:
Two directors ran a turf war for eighteen months.
a corner office
A senior position, with the status that comes with it.
Example:
He wanted a corner office more than he wanted the work.
a glass ceiling
An invisible barrier stopping people rising further.
Example:
The figures showed a glass ceiling exactly where everyone said it was.
the coal face
The place where the difficult practical work happens.
Example:
Nobody at the coal face had been consulted about any of it.
a fire sale
A sale of everything at very low prices, usually in a crisis.
Example:
The stock went in a fire sale three weeks before Christmas.
a hostile takeover
Buying a company against the wishes of its board.
Example:
A hostile takeover was the only way in and everybody knew it.
