Gossip from the industry - Cut the bull

Management consultants are funny sorts. During research for News Analysis on whether or not brokers could benefit from employing a consultant (p.8), Overheard stumbled across the idea of deciphering the jargon-ridden terms these experts come out with in order to help brokers decipher what they mean.

Lo and behold, one of the top consultants in insurance came to the rescue with an amusingly titled game. Tony Cornell of Cornell Consulting emailed Overheard a bingo-inspired game designed to encourage customers of consultants to take a stand against the obfuscating and befuddling terms inherent in consultant psycho-babble. For censorship purposes, Overheard renamed it Buzzword Bingo, though identifying the original name is simple enough. Below is a card designed with insurance in mind; brokers are advised to take the bingo card pictured to all meetings with their consultants and to cross off the terms as and when they utter them.

Should you match an entire line, proudly declare to your consultant "Buzzword!" to show that you have spotted their over-zealous use of management guff. With luck, they'll learn to speak to clients in plain English. Well, some hope.