To protect young Corporate Americans from serious injury, the Business Expression Institute has just published Feet to the Fire!– a listing of 1355 business clichés that could prove harmful if taken literally.
“Young up and comers haven’t been exposed to cliches,” says BEI spokesperson Paula Solomon. “So if the boss tells them to step up to the plate, they’re going to look for a plate to step up to.”
While doing this would likely prove harmless, Solomon cites these instances where following directions literally has had more severe consequences:
- A Phoenix accountant was gored trying to take a bull by the horns.
- A New Orleans engineer wrenched her back attempting to raise the bar.
- A Winston-Salem estate agent fell off a ladder trying to pick the low-hanging fruit.
- A Philadelphia administrative assistant required stitches after a colleague had been told to pick her brain.
- A Denver payables clerk attributed her carpal tunnel syndrome to her 21-year old supervisor giving her a slap on the wrist.
“These injuries could have been prevented,” says Solomon, “if people had known they were simply figures of speech.” Ultimately, the BEI decided to publish the guide because it feared a potential tragedy.
Says Solomon: “We wanted to prevent some innocent person from being handed his or her head.”
