People dramatically underestimate the power of words in business.
Words are the building blocks of narratives.
Narratives constrain and expand what lenses and frameworks are possible.
Lenses and frameworks are the boundaries for ideas and conversations.
Ideas and conversations determine strategies and tactics.
Strategies and tactics drive action.
Action drives outcomes.
It all flows downstream from words, and the ways they are arranged into narratives.
The wrong vocabulary leads to the wrong narrative which is the ultimate limiter on everything that follows.
If you think this is an exaggeration, read George Lakoff’s “Metaphors we live by”, or dive into research around the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis and similar phenomena.
Words are what separate humans from every other creature on this earth. It’s no wonder we’re also the only ones who make tools and build businesses.
It starts with words.