Over the weeks, I’ve picked up general business rules of thumb and I’ve gained invaluable, on-the-ground experience preparing for the minutiae of trade shows and events for our company. Even my vocabulary has improved by leaps and bounds, but not without me constantly peppering my coworkers for definitions. (Thankfully, I’m surrounded by gracious and patient people!)
Let me walk you through a few acronyms and examples of Movista-lingo that used to confuse me, but now make me feel like I’m bilingual! (I’m not.)
FITFO: This shorthand has a few variations of definition, but the blog-friendly version is “figure it out for yourself.” I’ll never forget that during my job interview my boss described this can-do, independent attitude as a core value of the workplace—and I was hooked!
KPI: Key Performance Indicator—another one of the first acronyms I picked up from our weekly marketing team meetings. A KPI is a unit of measurement our magic website developer uses to determine the success of our site. They’re his nerdy currency.
Q1-4: In retrospect, the fact that I didn’t know the calendar year is divided into four segments that guide the bulk of decision-making is a sign of my true and certain rookie nature. But we all have to start somewhere! For me, the starting line was asking my boss innocently what “Q1” meant after she referenced it and witnessing the fleeting flash of disbelief, followed by the recognition that "oh, right ... you're new at this" in her eyes. Now I know!
Repository: Every office space has subtle, nearly-undetectable buzzwords that have edged themselves into everyday dialect. I’ve bestowed upon myself the mission to detect them. It's a dangerous job, but somebody has to do it. And at Movista, you can’t go a day without hearing “repository.” We have photo repositories, info repositories, repositories for this and for that. Moral of the story: “repository” is Movista for “database”...essentially, the places we keep stuff together.
Qu’Est-ce que c’est: Excuse my French, but this little quip became quite the Abbott & Costello hit at a recent meeting. Because of high-school-Shelby’s decision to take Spanish classes and never study French, I was absolutely lost at a co-worker’s comment. Co-worker: “Qu’Est-ce que c’est.” Me: “What is it?” Co-worker: “Exactly.” Me: “No, what is it?” Co-worker: “Yes, that's right.” *Cue laughter*
Post-mortem: Sounds morbid, I know, but it’s just a meeting to review an event after its wrap-up. Hopefully, scheduling “post-mortems” on my Outlook calendar will never feel not-weird.
RFP or RFI: Request for Proposal or Request for Information—the documents that put many-a-coworker under duress before big client meetings. RFP’s are our documentation of our scope of work and bid for projects with potential clients. RFI's are responses to any details requested which help prove our capabilities to companies we want to work alongside.
BYOD: Bring your own device! It’s a strategy for managing your retail field team, by allowing them to use devices they already own and are familiar/comfortable with... and more than that—it’s a lifestyle. Read more about the “powerful supercomputer” in your employees’ pockets here.
These are just a few examples of the lingo I've picked up in my first quarter working at the #coolestofficeintown. For a more comprehensive list of terms that will help you navigate the world of retail & retail execution software, check out our Retail Execution Reference Guide.
