Bullshit Bingo

Author, Anonymous, circa 2000?
(I put this article on the website for your entertainment and enlightenment. This is not a real suggestion.)

Sometimes topical or fashionable words block real communication.

Do you keep falling asleep in staff meetings? What about those long and boring conference calls?

Here’s a way to change all of that:

1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare your “Bullshit Bingo” card by drawing a square — I find that 5″ x 5″ is a good size — and dividing it into columns — five across and five down. That will give you 25 1-inch blocks.

2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block (or include other fashionable but fuzzy words used in your company):

    • At the end of the day
    • Ballpark
    • Bandwidth
    • Benchmark
    • Bilateral
    • Bottom line
    • Cascade
    • Client focus(ed)
    • Core competencies
    • Disruptive technology
    • Empower (or empowerment)
    • Ecosystem (unless you are a biologist)
    • Fast track
    • Game changer
    • Game plan
    • Knowledgebase
    • Leverage
    • Mindset
    • Multiple times
    • Out of the box
    • Out of the loop
    • Proactive
    • Result-driven
    • Revisit
    • Sequential or sequentially
    • Strategic fit
    • Take that off-line
    • Thought leader
    • Touch base
    • Transparency
    • 24/7
    • Value-added
    • Win-win

3. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.

4. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout “BULLSHIT!”

Testimonials from satisfied “Bullshit Bingo” players:

“I had been in the meeting for only five minutes when I won.”
— Jack W., Boston

“My attention span at meetings has improved dramatically.”
— David D., Florida

“What a gas! Meetings will never be the same for me after my first win.”
— Bill R., New York City

“The atmosphere was tense in the last process meeting as 14 of us waited for the fifth box.”
— Ben G., Denver

“The speaker was stunned as eight of us screamed “BULLSHIT!” for the third time in two hours.”
— Harry A, Chantilly

“Thanks Bingo creator for thinking outside the box and proactively creating this value-added knowledge base that is a strategic fit with my core competencies and current client focused mindset. I can leverage our existing process and exploit the inherent synergies to expand the knowledge base to cater to our result driven team members who will work 24/7 to put it on a fast-track. This cascading game-plan is what I call a truly win-win situation, a disruptive game changer.”
— Swami S, Sunnyvale, CA

© Barry Phegan, Ph.D.