The De-Buzzword Test
Ask people to explain their idea without using the buzzword — if they can't, they haven't thought it through.
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 85%
A fast diagnostic for whether someone actually understands what they're proposing. When a person pitches an idea leaning on an abstract word ('strategy'), ask them to explain what they mean without using that word. Clear articulation without the crutch proves real understanding; fumbling back to the buzzword reveals they haven't broken the concept into its parts.
Origin
MacInnis welcomes outside ideas but applies this test on the spot. He pairs it with his own habit of refusing to import an idea without breaking it into constituent parts and figuring out how it applies at Rippling from first principles.
Core principles
- 01Abstract words let people hide unexamined thinking.
- 02Real understanding survives the removal of the jargon.
- 03Break every imported idea into constituent parts before adopting it.
- 04First-principles reconstruction beats borrowing a concept whole.
How to run it
- 1
Spot the crutch word
Notice when a proposal leans on an abstraction — 'strategy,' 'alignment,' 'platform' — doing the explanatory work.
- 2
Ask them to drop it
Say 'tell me what you mean without using that word' and listen for whether they can decompose the idea into concrete parts.
Pro tip Clear articulation without the word signals they know what they're talking about.
Watch out Fumbling back to the same word means the thinking isn't there yet — don't adopt the idea.
- 3
Reconstruct before adopting
For any idea worth keeping, break it into its constituent parts and work out how it applies in your specific context from first principles rather than importing it wholesale.
In the wild
When someone comes in saying they want to do a thing 'on strategy,' MacInnis asks them to say what they mean without the word 'strategy,' forcing decomposition into concrete parts.
→ Instantly separates people who've thought it through from those who haven't.
Common mistakes
Accepting buzzword-fluent pitches
Fluency with abstract terms can mask an absence of real, decomposed thinking, letting half-baked ideas advance.
Importing ideas whole
Adopting an external concept without breaking it into parts skips the work of figuring out whether and how it actually applies to your context.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders vetting proposals and ideas in meetings who need a quick read on depth of thinking.
Not ideal for
Situations demanding domain shorthand for speed among experts who already share precise definitions.
From the transcript
“tell me what you mean without using the word strategy.”
“if they can articulate it clearly without using that word, I know that they know what they're talking about.”
“I'm very reluctant to import an idea without breaking it down into its constituent parts and figuring out how it applies at Rippling.”
From the episode
10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear
Matt MacInnis (Rippling)