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Since the jaw-dropping Super Bowl game on Sunday, football has been a major topic of conversation in my office. This got me thinking about how sports and business intersect in the workplace. Though not immediately apparent, there are many similarities between the worlds of business and sports, from their environments comprised of teams and leaders to best practices such as developing strategies and setting goals. Yet the similarity that stands out to me the most has to do with language; many of us incorporate sports references into our business conversations every day, often without even realizing it. Here are 10 of the most common sports idioms used in the workplace.
1. Touch base
Derived from: Baseball
Meaning: To connect with or briefly meet
Ex: “I need to touch base with my coworker to make sure I understand all the steps of this project.”
2. Game plan
Derived from: Any sport
Meaning: A strategy worked out in advance
Ex: “Our team needs to develop a game plan for growing our social media presence this year.”
3. Drop the ball
Derived from: Football/baseball
Meaning: Make a mistake
Ex: “He really dropped the ball when he forgot to get final approval by the due date.”
4. Up to par
Derived from: Golf
Meaning: Up to standard
Ex: “The client did not think the deck our team put together was up to par, so we had to make a lot of changes.”
5. Blindsided
Derived from: Football
Meaning: Caught unprepared
Ex: “The manager was blindsided when his employee accepted a job at another company with no notice, right before the busiest quarter of the year.”
6. Strike out
Derived from: Baseball
Meaning: To fail
Ex: “She really struck out on that deal; the client immediately rejected her pitch.”
7. Learn the ropes
Derived from: Sailing
Meaning: To understand how to do a particular job
Ex: “The intern quickly had to learn the ropes so he could help plan the company event that week.”
8. Knock it out of the park
Derived from: Baseball
Meaning: To do something extraordinarily well
Ex: “Her presentation was clear, informative, and engaging. She really knocked it out of the park.”
9. On target
Derived from: Darts
Meaning: On schedule to succeed
Ex: “We are on target to meet our budget for this month.”
10. Take a rain check
Derived from: Baseball
Meaning: To accept an offer for a later time
Ex: “I’d love to grab coffee this week but may need to take a rain check, as I’m up against several deadlines right now.”
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