Idiom: make or break moment

Definition: an important moment that decides whether you will succeed or fail Examples: Today’s presentation in front of the board is very important. It will decide whether they approve our project and we get promoted, or they kill our project and fire us. It is...

Idiom: meet and greet

Definition: a basic introductory meeting, often informal, where you meet a person (or people) for the first time Examples: This is a new customer, and we’ve never met them in person. Let’s schedule a short meet-and-greet, so we can introduce ourselves. We...

Idiom: low hanging fruit

Definition: things that are easy to do, and give quick results Examples: This project is really complicated.  It will take years to finish. Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit, so we get some benefits quickly, and feel like we are making progress. The new CEO...

Idiom: a cash cow

Definition: a source of a lot of cash; a big profit-maker Examples: That is one of our best products. It is a cash cow. If we killed it, this company would lose a lot of money. That industry is very unpopular, and people want the government to regulate it more. But...

Idiom: a can of worms

Definition: a complicated problem, a tangled mess of problems Examples: If we layoff a few employees, it opens a can of worms.  You fire a few people, then the media says your company is sick, then investors start to worry, and your customers call your competitors,...

Idiom: to push the envelope

Definition: to test the boundaries, to try something new Examples: Our company is very conservative. Every presentation is always the same. I am going to push the envelope, and completely change the normal format. I’m trying a new sales technique with this new...