Categories: OLD Media Moves

Parsing executive departures

Mike Hoban, a Fast Company magazine blogger, has some great definitions that help explain what a company is saying when it parts ways with one of its executives, such as “leaving the company to pursue other interests.”

Here are some examples:

“Mr. Jones resigned under pressure.”
What it really means:  “We would have fired the guy if he hadn’t quit.  In fact, we would have pushed him down the elevator shaft if we could have gotten away with it.”

“Mr. Jones inspired passion in our customers.”
What it really means:  “Just the mention of his name would cause our customers’ faces to turn purple in rage.”

“He will be remembered long after he leaves.”
What it really means:  “We can’t remove the obscenities on the bathroom walls that were spray painted about him by many of the employees.”

“He demonstrated a passion for numbers.”
What it really means:  “He never did anything at the office except to work sudoku puzzles.”

Read more here.

Recent Posts

Making financial news more accessible

CNBC Make It reporter Ashton Jackson writes about ways to make financial news more accessible to consumers.…

59 mins ago

SABEW names Best in Business Book winners

The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing announced Wednesday the winners and finalists for…

6 hours ago

Business leaders turning away from traditional biz news outlets

Business professionals are turning away from traditional business media sources such as newspapers, magazines and…

6 hours ago

Wired seeks a reporter to cover tech companies

WIRED seeks a reporter to cover tech companies and their influence, with a particular focus…

8 hours ago

Austin daily hires Leonard as tech reporter

Karoline Leonard has been hired by the Austin American-Statesman as a technology reporter. Leonard graduated from…

11 hours ago

WSJ reporter Evans departs for Tradeoffs

Wall Street Journal reporter Melanie Evans has left the news organization for Tradeoffs, a nonprofit news organization…

11 hours ago