What to Do When Each Department Uses Different Words to Describe the Same Thing

We’ve all experienced some this problem: Ask a question to three different departments, and you get three different answers. The problem arises because different systems employ different definitions of key terms. The term “customer,” for instance, can mean a potential buyer to the marketing department, the person who signed the purchase order to sales, and the legal entity that it bills to accounting. But when this happens, people misunderstand the data and make mistakes.

Specialized vocabularies develop in the business world every day to support new or specialized disciplines, departments, problems, and innovative opportunities. But over time, systems don’t agree, which can cause tension and conflict in organizations.

Companies must thread the needle, following two rules: First, do all you can to encourage innovation and the growth of specialized language that comes with it. Second, provide the skinniest possible common vocabulary to facilitate company-wide communication.