Generals, I’ve established a war room. Quickly, gather your X1 Carbon Lenovo’s, refill your branded waterbottles from the San Pelligrino tap, and meet me in the glass board room overlooking the city. I’ll have my assistant cater kale salads, and together, we’ll defeat the axis of evil aka new procurement agency that is coming after our pricing. And if we don’t make it, well, it will have been an honour to serve with you all.
War metaphors are often used in business. We have the war room (meeting room). We are in the trenches (mostly excel). We are in a knife fight (for better packaging). We must protect the front lines (of service agents). We are going nuclear (with bright colour branding).
And I must admit, these analogies are actually pretty helpful and commonly understood, so they are useful in conveying a message. But sometimes I like to remind myself that the repercussions of being wrong in my war room are different than being wrong in a real one. That’s not to say my work or corporate work in general is unimportant, but it is good to recognize the relative significance of it. And not to take it too seriously.