Wow. A high level overview.

There are a handful of people who may have already snickered at that title—and as well they should.
I’ll explain.
I’ve had the unique fortune of exiting the corporate environment not once, but twice. I’d like to think that this helps to give me a unique perspective of the office environment. After I came back from China and finally landing a job back in the career track ate the end of 2006, one of the first thing I noticed was the change of office colloquialisms. The one that stood out and drove me nuts the most was the term phrase “going forward.” That sequence of 12 letters acted as kryptonite on my mortal soul. I swear that for a while, every time I heard it, my lifespan was shortened a few extra seconds.
I’m not kidding.
Somehow, the phrases “from now on,” and the more epic, “from this day forth,” had mysteriously been abducted from our communication cortices, and I feared for our safety.
Eventually my walls crumbled and it wasn’t long before “going forward” was imprinted into my vernacular and I too began to use it regularly.
Fast forward to now.
“Going forward” is still used quite frequently in my presence. This, however, pales in comparison to the new menace—the “high level overview.”. I’ll be honest and say that its presence when unnoticed for quite some time. It wasn’t until a colleague pointed out another colleagues usage of it that it all came flooding into my conscious in it’s overuse around me. Once those around me were also made aware of its evil, it suddenly became a point of quiet mockery and silent glances. Today, a King of Douchebagery dropped it and I had to summon the willpower of dozens to keep from breaking into historical laughter.
I can only speak from personal experience, but I fear this is a pandemic that has encompassed many other offices, and I would like to hear from those where it has. And to those who do find themselves victim of these and other office clichéd nuisances, I encourage you to stand firm against them, and openly mock those who abuse them.

UPDATE:
Courtesy of TheRoss.  Some juicy morsels.

If I could “piggyback on that” “going forward” I think all posts should be “high-level overviews” of “courageous conversations.” “One thing I think we can all agree on” is that “in today’s business climate” of “economic uncertainty,” “it is what it is.”