New Terms: The CAO and Bikeshedding

I was struck dumbfounded by the newest acronym: CAO – Chief Answers Officer. It is more a de facto role, than a de jure role. The Company Culture enforces that this position exist. It exists because someone doesn’t want to do their job – so a mangler needs to make the decision for them. Traditionally CAO is a shared title. A mischievous Vision, like parents played off one another by their children, one can behold the twisted situations the title creates.

Another joyous office activity I now have a word for is Bikeshedding. It makes for a very fun and long meeting. It results in “thinking real hard” about how things ought to be. All the while everyone is in full admission we do not know – nor do we posses data that makes such knowing possible. The scapegoat phrase “It will take too long to find out” is quick to the altar! So we’ll just sit down, stroke our beards, and think harder. Wait, what exactly is the problem again?

I want to create a Subversive Meeting Bingo^TM game. It is an active game rather than the passive buzzword bingo you will find at the water cooler. You must verbally slide “Bikeshed”, “CAO”, “non-sequitur”, “ad infinitum”, or “Contradiction!” into the meeting. Only then can all the players mark the tile off.

Parkinson, I salute you! You are a real man of genius.