Your boss doesn’t mean what you think.
“Interesting.” “Let’s circle back.” “I hear you.”
Every one of them sounds like plain English. None of them are. I spent my career in the rooms where these phrases get used. Now I’m writing down what they actually mean and what to do next.
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Three things you’ve heard this week.
“Let’s take this offline.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Stop talking about this in front of these people, right now.
THE MOVE: Nod. Move on. Send Bob the Boomer a Slack within an hour offering to discuss.
Learn more →“Interesting.”
WHAT IT MEANS: I am confused, unimpressed, or already planning to raise this with your manager.
THE MOVE: Say: “Happy to walk you through the reasoning. Would that be useful?”
Learn more →“I hear you.”
WHAT IT MEANS: I heard the sounds. I did not agree with any of them.
THE MOVE: Ask: “What part are you not sold on?”
Learn more →There are 39 more.
Get all 42 in The Boomer’s Chair.
(All three are taken word for word from Chapter 11.)
Learn more →The Boomer Decoder Book.
The Boomer’s Chair
A corporate espionage manual for the next generation of leaders. Every company has someone whose chair opens in the next few years. This book shows you how to be the obvious pick, by studying the person in it, solving the problems nobody else will, and learning the language they speak.
11 chapters, from picking your target chair to closing the deal
11 Corporate Espionage File worksheets—one per chapter
Chapter 11: all 42 Boomer phrases, decoded
Pull up a chair. Start here.
Who’s Writing This?
Hi, I’m Michael.
I’m a Boomer and a former broadcaster, and I’ve spent my career working alongside people from every generation.
I watch smart Gen Z workers hear a phrase from a Boomer manager, take it literally, and quietly write off the person who was actually trying to help them.
This site is my attempt to hand over the decoder ring my generation never wrote down.
Ways to work with me.
Ready to transform your career? Ready to finally figure out how to talk to Gen Z? There are three ways to pull up a chair.
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