Dear Someone Else’s Dad,
I’m fluent in text acronyms (BTW, LMAO, FWIW, NSFW, etc.) and have been gradually getting to understand our group’s financial acronyms pretty well (ROE, CPU, LIFO, etc.), especially since I can look them up quickly. I was finally able decipher my manager's constant "KMITL" (Keep Me In The Loop) after a few searches. Still, some of the ones he uses just puzzle me like, “Let’s get Amit’s SA on this before we send it out.” Is it “swift action?” “sales assistant?” “strong arm?” I can think of inappropriate ones too, but I don’t want to share. Any ideas? Thanks,
ICTYMRN (I Can’t Tell You My Real Name)
Dear NN,
My initial thought was “stamp of approval,” but more common would be SO for “sign-off.” Some people could think SO is “significant other,” which would make you wonder why someone’s life partner should be involved in business decision-making.
My main advice is: always ask someone to explain the actual meaning if you’re not sure. You should never be embarrassed to text or email back, “Just wanted to clarify: is SA “smelly armpit?” Well, actually you should be embarrassed to write that because you’d be a bit cheeky and also could offend someone with chronic BO (look that one up).
Here are some other more common acronyms that often confuse people at first glance:
AYEC: At Your Earliest Convenience
AYW: As You Want / As You Wish
EOM: End Of Message
GTD: Getting Things Done
KPI: Key Performance Indicator
KUTGW: Keep Up The Good Work
MOM: Month-Over-Month
PA: Performance Appraisal
PTE: Part-Time Employee
PTO: Paid Time Off
SMB: Small to Medium Business
SME: Subject Matter Expert
TED: Tell me, Explain to me, Describe to me
WOM: Word of Mouth
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get
BOL, HAND, LAK,
SED