#673 pay the pig

Intuitively we know that language is important, but we sometimes become casual or even careless with the labels we give things.

In our office (and beyond), we take names of things seriously.  When we changed from college to university, it was a hard transition.  "University" didn't roll off the tongue or seem natural.  We are now changing the name of a program on campus, and the new name also seems cumbersome.

In order to foster intentionality about the words we use, we have a practice of charging people when they slip and use the old name.  We have a piggy bank and each time a person defaults to the wrong name, they owe the pig five cents.  After the first few weeks, the fine goes up to 10 cents, then to a quarter, then to a dollar and after a reasonable period has passed the fine is five dollars.  Not only does it make the speaker more conscious, it makes everyone else more vigilant as monitors.

Today, it would be "college" that felt awkward; "university" is the natural default.  We want to get to that point with our new program name so the pig has been pressed into service again.  Our president alone paid it 30 cents yesterday.

Find a way in your organization to get consistency in the language you use to name and describe things.  And enjoy the pizza that you can buy with the earnings as people struggle to make your chosen words come easily to them!

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com