Ford's "Dimensioning"??

I imagine that it's a favorite term of Alan Mulally's that inevitably caught on among the senior staff at Ford. That - and it's pretty common management consultant-speak.

"Dimensioning". Sure. It's MBA-speak for "we don't know". You see, in Business 101, the first chapter is on how to CYA. Second chapter is on how to blame someone else for your problems. Third is on how to employ FUD.

There is no chapter in the textbook on how to say things straight, without using any brainiac-sounding multi-syllabic words as either a shield or camouflage.

Clearly, Ford just doesn't get it. How can they expect new federal loans to accomplish anything other than selling off their old inventories of cars they ignorantly produced in the first place. When those cheap and most likely illegitimate loans default and were stuck in another lending mess, Ford will already be six feet under and unable to negotiate these ridiculous policies.

I'd have to agree with James - and would add another possible definition:

"We're still sitting around the board room presenting politically correct Powerpoint Pontifications to each other."

What would be so hard about saying, "We're still thinking about it." Guess it doesn't sound sufficiently impressive...but wouldn't it be great if we thought senior execs did such things (versus crafting CYA art and CEO speak.)

(Full disclosure: I'm a consultant - but I'm one that likes to actually get things done and problems solved. I call them "doing things" and "solving problems." I also believe thinking is a good thing.;-)