THE TOOLKIT
Acronyms
Acronyms are as common in business as CEOs, CPAs, and MBAs. When everyone in the room is of a similar background with similar context and similar understanding, then acronyms tend to speed along the conversation and help the email appear shorter and more concise. The challenge is that many times the room is not of the same mind or the communication extends outside the original communicators to people who don’t share the same understanding. Then, acronyms become vague, ambiguous, misconstrued, and even condescending. Taking a common acronym heard in business, CPG, and doing a quick search, the following possibilities come up:
Consumer Products Group
Consumer Packaged Good
Clinical Practice Guidelines
Certified Professional Geologist
Clock Pulse Generator
Civil Preparedness Guide
Contingency Planning Guidance
Compliance Policy Guides
Cost Per Gallon
Core Planning Group
Certified Professional Guardian
Change Planning Group
Controlled Porous Glass
Contract Performance Guarantee
Control Point Generation
Career Progression Guide
In addition, there were over 200 more. Therefore, when, how, where, and with whom do you use acronyms? Ideally, it should be with people who not only know the acronym but also share a similar understanding of its meaning. For example, the acronym ASAP literally means “as soon as possible.” However, in a recent study we conducted, here were the various explanations we heard for ASAP:
“Right now!”
“Yesterday!”
“As soon as possible”
“As soon as I can get to it”
“As soon as you need it”
“Day’s end”
“Lunchtime”
“COB” (close of business)
“Within the hour”
“End of the week”
“End of the quarter”
“End of meeting”
A simple acronym used in business everyday can create some much ambiguity, frustration, and conflict. Therefore, the recommendation is to always be as clear and concrete as possible.