The Asks of Bjorn

Recently, a new colleague tripped over a word in the text she was editing. “Upskill?” she asked aloud skeptically. “Let it go,” I hollered from my corner. “It’s okay, it’s a word.”

I remembered the first time I heard the word. From the managing director of an SAP office. A native speaker of English. Someone who knows what he is talking about. He said that one of his goals was to upskill his staff. “Aha,” I responded knowingly. To train them, to improve their skills.

But this week I had an upskilled moment of my own. I received an e-mail from an American colleague in which she used the word “asks” as a noun: “Thanks to everyone for getting back to me on the asks of Bjorn for our upcoming event.” (All names have been changed to protect the innocent).

Only now, after several days, have I discovered that the writer didn’t even mean “needs” as I initially suspected. She means our requests of Bjorn’s time. Our “asks” of him. A friend of mine argues that American English is exciting because it is always alive and changing, is the open source of language – open to influences from music, politics, and now from new media. Of course, he is right. Although purists would reject such words out of hand, corporate-speak, as ugly as it can be, is always evolving and often exciting.

 

The Blogfather

Time to express my thanks to two colleagues and one former colleague without whose interference this blog would never have been published.

First my thanks to former colleague Thomas Otter, who spent the better part of a morning with me in his last days at SAP talking posts, clouds, flickr, igoogle etc. Thomas was supposed to give me the Blogging for Beginners lesson, but instead I got Advanced Blogging. He is an avid supporter and we miss him at SAP. Thomas blogs irreverently on Chucks and lapel width at Dedicated Followers of Fashion and more seriously on technology at Vendorprisy.

Mike Prosceno took time to chat with me from New York about blogging several weeks ago. Mike is a social media expert, and is responsible for the topic within the company’s Global Communication’s department. His blog, Accidentally on Purpose, is a place where experts meet and exchange opinions and ideas.

Finally, I owe acknowledgements to James Farrar, whose blog Wisdom of Clouds, is a collection of penetrating and thoughtful essays on transparency and sustainability. James gave me some good advice about blogging in the bar of the Rey Juan Carlos hotel during SAP’S Field Kick-Off Meeting in Barcelona in January and has been pestering me to publish since then.

Thanks to all three blogfathers for their support!