In American usage the word is an accusation, and it is applied to private companies as readily as to government. Elsewhere the word can describe a form of organisation. In American English it describes a failure of one.
words
Plug and play
An American phrase for hardware that configures itself on connection, and it passed into general business speech for anything that works without setup. The claim is about the absence of preparation.
Sustainability, and where it came from
Sustainability is also a German word, and much older than the environmental movement. Hans Carl von Carlowitz set it out in Sylvicultura oeconomica in 1713, writing about forestry: cut no more timber than the forest can regrow.
The idea is prevention stretched across generations. Do not solve this year’s problem in a way that creates one for people not yet born.
Dealing in the dark
Mauscheln. To do a deal in the dark. Along with Kungelei and Klüngel, German words for an arrangement reached between the right people out of sight. They are used in political journalism constantly, always as an accusation, and they all name the same offence: the outcome was arranged rather than reasoned.
The specification
The German Leistungsbeschreibung is written before quotations are sought, and a supplier who receives a vague one will say so. A client who does not yet know what he wants is not regarded as an early-stage opportunity. He is regarded as not yet ready to have the conversation.
Consensus as the objective
German political and business speech treats consensus as the objective rather than as an unusually good outcome. Konsensfähig — capable of consensus — is a compliment applied to proposals and to people. A position that cannot attract agreement is described as defective rather than as merely unpopular.
Pivot
Startup vocabulary for abandoning your original idea and redirecting the company. It is not a word of failure — founders announce pivots. The term borrows from basketball, where the pivot foot stays planted while everything else turns.
Haggling
To haggle. A German verb with an unmistakable register — markets, bazaars, small sums, and a slight contempt. No German professional describes their own negotiating as Feilschen. It is what other people do.
One word for procedure
The German Verfahren covers a procedure, a legal proceeding, a manufacturing method and an administrative process. One noun for the ordered way of getting from a beginning to an end, used across law, industry and government alike.
Danger recognized, danger banished
Danger recognized, danger banished.
The claim in the phrase is very strong. Not that recognizing a danger helps, or improves your odds. That recognizing it is the act of removing it.
Which tells you where the culture believes the work happens.