Latest news with #businessworld
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
China's Problem With Competition: There's Too Much of It
It's the circle of life in China's business world. A promising technology or product emerges. Chinese manufacturers, by the dozens or sometimes the hundreds, storm into that nascent sector. They ramp up production and drive down costs. As the overall market grows, the competition becomes increasingly cutthroat, with rival companies undercutting one another and enduring razor-thin profit margins or even losses in the hope of outlasting the field. Adding to the competitive fervor, China's local governments, each with its own target for economic and job growth, back a homegrown champion and shower it with financial and bureaucratic support. Soon, the whole industry, awash in production capacity, is trapped in a race for survival. While most governments encourage vigorous competition and low prices, China is going in the opposite direction. It is trying to rein in 'involution,' a sociological phrase widely used in China to describe a self-defeating cycle of excessive competition and damaging deflation. Xi Jinping, China's top leader, pledged to take steps to crack down on 'low price and disorderly competition' and eliminate outdated industrial capacity at a high-level economic policy meeting this month. At another recent gathering, on urban development, Mr. Xi questioned whether every province needed to rush into sectors like artificial intelligence and electric cars. 'Price wars and 'involutionary' competition will only encourage 'bad money driving out good money,'' wrote People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. 'Simply 'rolling' prices downward will not result in a winner.' China's efforts to tackle involution are taking on new life as President Trump's tariffs discourage exports to the United States. Other countries are also wary of a flood of inexpensive Chinese goods redirected their way. These unsold goods, combined with a slowing domestic economy, have intensified competition, fueling a deflationary spiral. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Arabian Business
02-07-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Business Buzzword Bingo: 25 phrases that need to be retired in 2025 — and what to say instead
Listen to enough executives, consultants, or self-styled business gurus, and you'll hear a strange dialect — one where success comes not from doing great work, but from touching bases, keeping stakeholders in loops, and pinging deliverables to take ownership of game-changing KPIs. Buzzwords and jargon now saturate modern workplaces Businesses don't make money — they maximise revenue opportunities Managers don't take a step back — they empower the team And employees no longer do their jobs — they strive toward a North Star metric aligned with corporate vision Business Buzzword Bingo 2025 From 'circle back' to 'bleeding edge,' today's office lingo promises clarity but delivers confusion. These phrases are meant to sound strategic, intelligent, or visionary — but most just obscure meaning, delay decisions, and drain meetings of momentum. Leaders write them on slides, repeat them in meetings, and post them on LinkedIn hoping to sound like captains of industry. The reality? They're more likely to leave colleagues — sorry, value-chain co-creators — weeping quietly into the photocopier tray. Here are 25 of the worst offenders — decoded, dissected, and replaced with something that actually works. Let's circle back Translation: Let's return to this topic at a later date. What it REALLY means: A polite way to delay, deflect, or forget about something without saying so directly. Usually means: 'Let's hope this dies quietly and we never mention it again.' It is a polite way to say in a meeting 'I don't want to hear another word about this'. What to say instead: 'Let's revisit this after Thursday's meeting.' Touch base Translation: Let's catch up briefly. What it REALLY means: Used when someone wants to appear proactive without saying anything specific. It's vague, empty, and screams filler. You can go for decades in a successful business career without touching a single base – whatever that means. What to say instead: 'Let's have a quick five-minute call tomorrow.' Purpose-led Translation: This business is guided by a meaningful mission. What it REALLY means: An overused label slapped on everything from bottled water to crypto tokens. If you have to say it, you're probably not showing it. Is it cynical to suggest this is way of charging an extra $3 for an ice cream by pretending the company is actually in the business of bettering society and not just flogging frozen desserts. What to say instead: 'We're focused on solving [specific issue] with measurable impact.' Disruptor Translation: A company that changes the status quo. What it REALLY means: Once reserved for revolutionary innovations — now applied to every startup with a pitch deck and Wi-Fi. Can you really be a real estate disruptor if all you're doing is selling homes to existing customers using conventional methods? It usually means annoying, troublesome or just plain belligerent. What to say instead: 'We're doing [X] differently, and here's the result.' Going forward Translation: From this point on. What it REALLY means: As opposed to what? Jumping in a time machine and conducting business in the past? This passive-aggressive reset is often used to avoid owning a mistake: 'Ignore what just happened — here's the new spin.' What to say instead: 'From now on, we'll do it this way.' Keep me in the loop Translation: Update me as things progress. What it REALLY means: A vague request for updates — often thrown in by someone who doesn't want to be responsible but wants to stay attached. Roughly translated it means 'I am offering no help, support or advice on how to fix this, but if you update me I will swoop in at the end and take credit or be there first-hand to offer criticism when this whole fiasco comes to an end'. What to say instead: 'Please send me a status update every Friday.' Take ownership Translation: Be responsible for this task. What it REALLY means: A favourite of managers outsourcing accountability. Sounds empowering but often means: 'This is your problem now.' What to say instead: 'You're responsible for delivering this by Friday.' KPI-driven Translation: Focused on hitting performance targets. What it REALLY means: A phrase that tries to sound results-oriented but often replaces real strategy with a spreadsheet. Often it means just breaking up a job description into a bullet-pointed list of startlingly obvious duties. What to say instead: 'We're measuring success by [specific outcome].' Ping me Translation: Send me a message. What it REALLY means: Tech-bro casualness in professional clothing. Makes email sound like a video game. What to say instead: 'Send me a message.' Deliverables Translation: The items we're expected to complete. What it REALLY means: Cold, dehumanised project language that treats work like a transaction — not a process. Deliverables just means what you were told to do, but it can take the heart and passion out of a commodity. Yes, a beautiful painting, an artisan hand-made suit or a finely tuned algorithm are all deliverables of some sort or other – but it does make hard work sound like a faceless item on a spreadsheet. What to say instead: 'Here's what we need to complete by next week.' Business-critical Translation: This is essential to the company's operations. What it REALLY means: Inflationary language that makes everything sound like a life-or-death decision. Often just means 'important.' What to say instead: 'This is top priority for the business.' Bleeding edge Translation: Extremely advanced and experimental. What it REALLY means: Used to sell half-baked tech no one understands. Sounds impressive, delivers chaos. Even more modern than cutting edge and, presumably, an evolutionary step towards 'bone-deep edge'. What is wrong with just calling something 'new'? What to say instead: 'We're testing new technology before wide rollout.' Deep dive Translation: A detailed analysis. What it REALLY means: A signal that a 90-slide deck is coming. Or worse, an hour-long meeting that should have been an email. There is no shame in being thorough and checking work properly – you don't need to make it sound like an extreme sport expedition to make it more glamorous. What to say instead: 'Let's analyse this thoroughly.' Synergy Translation: Two things working better together. What it REALLY means: It has become so overused that nobody even knows any more. Often said in meetings by somebody who wants you to do their work for them, the actual definition is unknown. Most likely said by people in HR, marketing or head office when they want other departments to do them a favour. What to say instead: 'There's mutual benefit if we align on this.' Pivot Translation: We're changing direction. What it REALLY means: The startup world's polite way of saying, 'Our idea failed, and we're scrambling.' There is no shame in pivoting, but you should only say it if you actually mean it. What to say instead: 'We're shifting strategy based on what we've learned.' Low-hanging fruit Translation: The easiest opportunity to pursue. What it REALLY means: Dismisses real work as too difficult and suggests we'll only go for easy wins. Said by other people in the office to undermine your achievements. Under no circumstances should you ever take fruit into a meeting and start flinging it at people who use business jargon, but silently thinking of bouncing a mango off your manager's head when they belittle your achievements is permissible. What to say instead: 'Let's start with the fastest and most impactful tasks.' Take it offline Translation: Discuss this outside the meeting. What it REALLY means: Usually code for: 'This is awkward or unimportant — let's bury it later.' If not that then it is a certain way to say 'We will criticise everybody else in this meeting when we get together later'. What to say instead: 'Let's discuss this one-on-one after the meeting.' On my radar Translation: I'm aware of this. What it REALLY means: A vague, non-committal way of saying, 'I haven't done anything yet, but I want credit for noticing it.' What to say instead: 'I'm tracking this and will update you next week.' Game-changer Translation: A breakthrough innovation. What it REALLY means: One of the most overhyped phrases in business. If everything's a game-changer, nothing is. Cars, sales people, soft drinks, running shoes, logos, mobile phone cases, fast food restaurants and office layouts get called things like game-changing on a daily basis. Ask yourself if they are even one per cent different to everything else in the same category. They probably are not. What to say instead: 'This could have a major impact on results.' Think outside the box Translation: Be creative. What it REALLY means: Ironically uncreative. Used most often by people who don't actually want change. What to say instead: 'Let's question our assumptions and explore new options.' Run it up the flagpole Translation: Let's get approval or feedback. What it REALLY means: A relic of 1950s corporate speak that now signals indecision or hierarchy worship. Usually said by people in middle management who do not have the power to make a decision, but also don't have to do the work after one has been made. What to say instead: 'I'll check with the decision-makers and confirm.' Bandwidth Translation: Availability or capacity. What it REALLY means: Corporate code for burnout or overwork — used to politely say 'I can't take this on.' It very rarely refers to actual bandwidth. More likely to suggest 'I was hoping to leave at 3.30pm today to go to the mall, so don't want to do anything else'. What to say instead: 'I don't have capacity right now — can we push this?' Facilitate Translation: Help make something happen. What it REALLY means: A vague verb that makes action sound bureaucratic. Overused in job descriptions and strategy decks. What to say instead: 'I'll help organise and move this forward.' Actionable Translation: Something we can act on. What it REALLY means: A favourite in reports and slides — often used when there's little clarity about the action itself. What to say instead: 'Here's what we can do next.' Innovation Translation: New and valuable ideas or products. What it REALLY means: The most overused word in modern business. If you have to say it, you probably haven't done it. What to say instead: 'Here's the new solution we're building.' Corporate jargon decoded If the goal is clear, honest communication, let's start by dropping the buzzwords. They don't make you sound smarter — just less direct. Retiring these phrases won't just clean up your meetings and emails — it'll make your team faster, sharper, and easier to trust. Print out the bingo card below and take it into your next meeting.
Entrepreneur
23-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
3 Truths Every Founder Learns the Hard Way
There's no manual for entrepreneurship — and your mom's advice, while well-meaning, didn't cover the realities of building a business. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Growing up, most of us were raised on a handful of core values: Be respectful, work hard, go to school, and try to find a "good job." That kind of advice served a purpose — until you stepped into the world of entrepreneurship. Once you start building companies, managing risk and making decisions that impact other people's livelihoods, you quickly realize that much of the real-world playbook wasn't passed down at the dinner table. There are rules no one told you — lessons that only become clear through experience, failure and a few bruises along the way. Here are three truths your mom probably didn't mention, but every entrepreneur eventually learns. Related: 5 Truths About Entrepreneurship You're Better Off Knowing From the Start 1. Relationships matter more than money — don't burn bridges Money gets a lot of attention. In business, it's often treated as the ultimate scorecard. But ask anyone who's been through multiple cycles — booms, busts, exits, restarts — and they'll tell you the same thing: Relationships are the true long-term currency. Too many people early in their careers treat business like a zero-sum game. Win the deal. Beat the competition. Squeeze every cent. But what they don't realize is that business is a marathon, not a sprint. And the bridges you burn now could be the ones you need to cross later. People remember how you made them feel. They remember how you showed up when things were good and how you behaved when things weren't. I've seen incredibly talented people sidelined from opportunity not because they lacked skill, but because they left a trail of scorched relationships behind them. Business isn't just about capital — it's about trust. When the tide turns, it won't be your profit margins that save you. It'll be the people who trust you enough to bet on you again. So, here's the bottom line: Protect your name. Don't burn bridges. Stay in touch with the people who helped you early on. And never underestimate the value of loyalty, humility and consistency. 2. Don't just look for a job — build a career that points forward Most people are trained to look for stability. A job with a paycheck, a title, maybe benefits. But entrepreneurship requires a different mindset — one that's focused not just on the next role, but on the next direction. If you're constantly looking straight ahead, reacting to what's in front of you, you'll miss the bigger picture. The best founders don't just ask, "What should I do next?" They ask, "What kind of life do I want to build? What impact do I want to have?" Looking up means identifying a bigger vision. It means saying no to short-term moves that don't serve the long game. It means thinking in terms of legacy, not just tasks. Every great company starts with someone who wasn't satisfied with the status quo. Someone who refused to settle for "just another job" and instead chose to take a risk on a bigger idea. If you're serious about entrepreneurship, your job isn't to chase opportunities — it's to shape them. Stop asking what's available. Start asking what's possible. Related: What No One Tells You About Entrepreneurship — 5 Hard Truths 3. Go to college — but not for the reasons you think We've been told since childhood: "Go to college. It's the only way to succeed." And sure, if you're planning to be a doctor, attorney or engineer, that advice still holds up. But for the rest of us? The real value of college has little to do with the diploma and everything to do with the people. College isn't just a classroom. It's your first real network. Your first taste of navigating relationships, learning to pitch an idea, convincing others to join your vision and failing publicly — then bouncing back. That's not something you learn in a lecture hall. Some of the most successful founders of our time didn't finish college, but they were smart enough to immerse themselves in a social ecosystem where ideas, ambition and bold personalities collided. College is where you find your tribe. Your co-founders. Your early supporters. Your future business partners. So if you're going to invest in college, don't do it for the framed degree. Do it for the four years of social capital you'll never get back. Skip the resume-padding clubs and find the circles where ideas get challenged, risks get taken and relationships get built. Because ten years from now, no one's going to ask what grade you got in Econ 101 — but they will ask who you built something with. Related: The 6 Scary Truths About Becoming an Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is one of the toughest and most rewarding paths you can take. But it doesn't come with a manual — especially not one your parents had. The lessons you need to succeed often fly in the face of conventional wisdom. So let this be your updated guide: Prioritize people over profit. Think in decades, not quarters. And recognize that your social intelligence will often carry you further than any degree. Your mom gave you the basics. Now it's on you to learn the rest — and write your own playbook.
Forbes
23-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Roxana Diaconu
5 minutes ago Nothing prepares you for business like business. (In fact, it's the only thing that prepares you.)
Forbes
06-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The AI Paradox: When More AI Means Less Impact
Young business man with his face passing through the screen of a laptop on binary code background AI is in the news every day. On the one hand, this highlights the vertiginous speed at which the field is developing. On the other, it creates a sense saturation and angst that makes business organizations either drop the subject altogether or go at it full throttle without much discernment. Both approaches will lead to major misses in the inevitable AI-fication of business. In this article, I'll explore what happens when a business goes down the AI rabbit hole without a clear business objective and a solid grasp of the available alternatives. If you have attended any AI conference lately, chances are that, by the end, you thought your business was dangerously behind. Many of these events, even if not on purpose, can leave you with the feeling that you need to deploy AI everywhere and automate everything to catch up. If you've succumbed to this temptation, you most likely found out that is not the right move. Two years into the generative AI revolution, a counterintuitive truth is emerging from boardrooms to factory floors. Companies pursuing 100% AI automation are often seeing diminished returns, while those treating AI as one element in a broader, human-centered workflow are capturing both cost savings and competitive advantages. The obvious truth is already revealing itself: AI is just one more technology at our disposal, and just like every other new technology, everyone is trying to gain first-move advantage, which inevitably creates chaos. Those who see through and beyond said chaos are building the foundations of a successful AI-assisted business. The numbers tell a story that contradicts the automation evangelists. Three in four workers say AI tools have decreased their productivity and added to their workload, according to a recent UpWork survey of 2,500 respondents across four countries. Workers report spending more time reviewing AI-generated content and learning tool complexities than the time these tools supposedly save. Even more revealing: while 85% of company leaders are pushing workers to use AI, nearly half of employees using AI admitted they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect. This disconnect isn't just corporate misalignment—it's a fundamental misunderstanding of how AI creates value. The companies winning the AI game aren't those deploying the most algorithms. They're the ones who understand that intelligent automation shouldn't rely on AI alone. Instead, successful organizations are orchestrating AI within broader process frameworks where human expertise guides strategic decisions while AI handles specific, well-defined tasks. A good AI strategy always revolves around domain experts, not the other way around. Consider how The New York Times approached AI integration. Rather than replacing journalists with AI, the newspaper introduced AI tools for editing copy, summarizing information, and generating promotional content, while maintaining strict guidelines that AI cannot draft full articles or significantly alter journalism. This measured approach preserves editorial integrity while amplifying human capabilities. AI should be integrated strategically and operationally into entire processes, not deployed as isolated solutions to be indiscriminately exploited hoping for magic. Research shows that 60% of business and IT leaders use over 26 systems in their automation efforts, and 42% cite lack of integration as a major digital transformation hurdle. The most effective AI implementations focus on task-specific applications rather than general automation. Task-specific models offer highly specialized solutions for targeted problems, making them more efficient and cost-effective than general-purpose alternatives. Harvard Business School research involving 750 Boston Consulting Group consultants revealed this precision matters enormously. While consultants using AI completed certain tasks 40% faster with higher quality, they were 19 percentage points less likely to produce correct answers on complex tasks requiring nuanced judgment. This 'jagged technological frontier' demands that organizations implement methodical test-and-learn approaches rather than wholesale AI adoption. Harvard Business Review research confirms that AI notoriously fails at capturing intangible human factors essential for real-world decision-making—ethical considerations, moral judgments, and contextual nuances that guide business success. The companies thriving in 2025 aren't choosing between humans and machines. They're building hybrid systems where AI automation is balanced with human interaction to maintain stakeholder trust and capture value that neither could achieve alone. The mantra, 'AI will replace your job,' seems to consistently reveal a timeless truth: everything that should be automated will be automated, not everything than can be automated will. The Path Forward The AI paradox isn't a failure of technology—it's a lesson in implementation strategy. Organizations that resist the allure of complete automation and instead focus on thoughtful integration, task-specific deployment, and human-AI collaboration aren't just avoiding the productivity trap. They're building sustainable competitive advantages that compound over time. The question isn't whether your organization should use AI. It's whether you'll fall into the 'more AI' trap or master the art of 'smarter AI'—where less automation actually delivers more impact.
