Caution: Small Words at Work

When you speak and write, there is no law that says you have to use big words.
Short words are as good as long ones, and short, old words -- like sun and grass
and home -- are best of all. A lot of small words, more than you might think, can
meet your needs with a strength, grace, and charm that large words do not have.

- Richard Lederer

Richard Lederer is someone I discovered recently. He along with Martha Barnette, another
linguist, hosts a weekly show called A Way With Words from a Public Radio station
in San Diego. I discovered it when I was searching for good podcasts for my iPod to be used
on our long drive to Los Angeles on our vacation this summer. My entire family just
loved many past 50 minute segments (podcasts) of this variety show on words.

The above quote is an excerpt from his essay "The Case for Short Words".
It can be found here: http://kpbs.org/Preview/DynPage.php?id=2077

Details of his radio program: http://www.kpbs.org/Radio/DynPage.php?id=12

What does this have to do with Lean Six Sigma and Outsourcing?

Contrary to what you think - everything!

It’s Lean Communication! Whether it is Software Development Outsourcing or BPO,
communication is THE key ingredient that sows the seeds for success or failure. You may
not know it at the time you are sowing it, but problems show up later on.

Simple communication with simple words are needed to communicate software Requirements precisely
and, subsequently in all communication, for the software to meet your needs.

Simple communication makes sure that Business Process is understood in all its dimensions and the Outsourcing is successful!

And when you are trying to cut waste from everything in Lean Six Sigma efforts, communication
needs to be simple and easily understood. Of course, when you need to use bigger words for
more accuracy, you should do so!

Simple, but easy to forget in a business world drowning in BusinessSpeak!