Words are Important
The business world seems to generate more jargon and buzzwords than goods and services these days. Words are being misused and abused. This is a disaster because words are important. When words can be made to mean anything, they mean nothing. Without precise meaning, we can’t form rational thought and the world is lost. So, in the interest of saving the world, I humbly present my second installment of this series on words:
Transparency
What it means
The transparency of an object refers to how well light passes through it without being refracted or otherwise disturbed. The more transparent an object is, the more light passes through, and thus the better you can see objects behind it. Thus, a perfectly transparent object would be invisible.
How it’s used
Transparency is now commonly used to mean a forthright accountability to the public by making your own business practices visible.
Why it’s important
This new use of transparency is the exact opposite of the true meaning of the word!
Even Merriam-Webster has is all screwed up. One of the definitions is “easily-detected or seen through.” Folks, these are two mutually exclusive states. If I was trying to avoid being detected, I would prefer to be seen through (Note: all true Star Trek nerds know this is the principle behind the Romulan cloaking device).
With a quarter-million gallons of crude oil being vomited into the Gulf of Mexico per day, people have been screaming for BP to be more transparent. “Show us the underwater video! Tell us what you’re doing! Tell us what you intend to pay for! Transparency! We need transparency!”
To that, I say they have been perfectly transparent. I haven’t seen them do a damn thing.
Image by Bpw
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Dave,
As your good friend, it pains me to disagree with your analysis on this one (BTW, I’m loving your takes on the other ones you’ve written so far – I’m a semantics/linquistics/etymology geek myself, and I find your blog posts refreshing and well-written!)
However, while I like your alternate take, in this case I believe that the implication has always been the transparency of the “outer shell” – allowing you to see the inner workings of the matter at hand. Like this model engine – http://www.hobbyplace.com/images/revell/car/rmxs8883.jpg – the outside is “transparent” so you can see the movement of the pistons, rods, etc. to see how the engine works. Meanwhile, your car’s real engine, cloaked in heavy steel, is a magical mystery in the way that it creates propulsion for your car.
Likewise, a company might seek to make its accounting practices “transparent” – meaning that the normally opaque wall of secrecy in how they make their “money-making magic” happen is pulled back; they are now forced to “show their math.” The Wizard’s curtain in Oz has become a transparent shower curtain, and you see all the levers and switches and the little old man behind the microphone.
Just my take – I enjoy the blog!
–Mark
The link to the engine pic is not working, but I’ll imagine it’s like those old “Visible Man” models where the guy had clear skin so you could see all the bones and organs and junk.
Isn’t that at best a really awkward metaphor?
“This company needs to be transparent. And by that, I mean the company should be visible. But imagine there’s this wall between you and the company that you can’t see through. So, you can’t see the company. Well, that wall should be invisible!”
Kind of odd, I think. Even something like, “We need transparency into the company’s business practices” is a little better but still cumbersome.
You can twist the meaning in three jumps:
1.) “I want to make myself clear.” — To use the communication theory jargon, I want my signal to be clear of noise.
2.) “I want to be crystal clear.” — I want my signal to be as clear of noise as crystal is clear of imperfections.
3.) “I want to be transparent.” — I want to be invisible.
Remember, crystal’s clarity gives it its transparency (i.e., transparency is a function of clarity). They are not synonymous.
Why not just say the word that already means what you think it means?
“The company should make its accounting practices apparent.”