Being Trilingual: Spanish, English, and Corporate
Guess which one was harder to learn.
No, you do not understand. You cannot fully grasp meaning just by knowing the words. It goes beyond the phrases and the common greetings. The corporate world, its own culture, its own mannerism, rules, spoken and unspoken, hold the power to fully immersing yourself in the world that can make you, build you and destroy you.
The experience is multifaceted. It can leave the most vile taste in your mouth that is both unforgettable and regrettable. It can also be the most eye-opening, jaw dropping, because now, you understand, not just those managing you, but those in charge of the world.
On the surface we know and laugh at the comical phrases that identify from corporate to another. You adopt them as your own and slowly you become to speak it. You circle back and you debrief and you provide feedback, and you repeat back. This is what I would describe as beginner level of the corporate speak. Like other languages, there are dialects within regions. In the same way, the departments contain their jokes, jargon, and some become even more exclusionary by the field. There is non-profit, there is tech, there is those who fund and those who need the funding. All coexist trying to understand each other. The basis are usually enough, and all with the main purpose to identify each other, their own clan.
You can choose to deny this knowledge, resist. challenge, and be a contrarian and push back, and you will be pushed out. You will remove yourself from what could have been a career as a manager, director, and executive level (all which have their own vocabulary).
Understating that the world runs on this language is not enough. It will only take you so far, maybe even get you to a managerial position. But to truly master, and be a teacher (which I am not), you must decide to be fluent and with that you understand that the language is to manipulate and control those around you. To get a result that goes beyond an executed task or next steps. No, the fluency comes when you can anticipate the response based on how you pose the question.
This is of course exclusionary to American corp, there are other rules and layers in other countries and that will go beyond your expert level. I myself barely spoke and thought I understood. The more you remove yourself from that world, you lose the tongue. Gradually you forget those cues and realize that without it, you are at a disadvantage. So you must study, stay current, and know the power it holds.