Episode 194: Hope This Episode Finds You Well (It Won’t) - Passive Aggression & Other Management Skills

“...but it's WOMEN who are the source... the only power. Nature, birth, rebirth. Cliché? Cliché... sure... but true.” —Devilish Daryl Van Horne, The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

If that isn’t the perfect opener for an episode drowning—no, baptized—in clichés, then what is?

Our dubious duo, Rona Lewis and Jeffrey Hansler, have decided to take a magnifying glass (and possibly a flamethrower) to the passive-aggressive email clichés that haunt every inbox like ghosts of middle-management past.

You know the ones:

• “Per my last email…” (Translation: CAN YOU READ?)

• “Just circling back…” (Translation: Why haven’t you done the thing I want?)

• “As we discussed…” (Translation: I’m about to gaslight you.)

• “Hope this finds you well!” (Translation: I don’t actually care how this finds you. I just want something.)

And because it’s Biz-Souls, the chaos doesn’t stop there. Rona again masterminds the torment. She suggests the topic. She creates the test. She grades Jeffrey. And Jeffrey, bless his interrupt-happy heart, tries to pass. Does he?

Miraculously, yes. With Rona’s incredibly generous, curve-destroying, participation-award-level B.

Recommended Biz-Souls Episodes:

Perfect for listeners who want to revisit the “classic era” of Biz-Souls—before Jeffrey apologized less and Rona rolled her eyes more.

• Episode 101 — “Leadership Schmleadership”

https://www.biz-souls.com/episode101

• Episode 103 — “Trust Falls & Other Corporate Hazing Rituals”

https://www.biz-souls.com/episode103

• Episode 107 — “Communication: Because Telepathy Still Isn’t Working”

https://www.biz-souls.com/episode107

• Episode 111 — “Stop Using Buzzwords (Synergy Not Included)”

https://www.biz-souls.com/episode111

• Episode 115 — “Do We Really Need Another Meeting?”

https://www.biz-souls.com/episode115

• Episode 118 — “Feedback or Vague Insults?”

https://www.biz-souls.com/episode118

Once again, our hosts open the floor (and their inboxes) to you, dear listeners:

What mindless business clichés, expressions, corporate poet-speak, and office-approved arrogance have you endured?

Send them in. Share your cringe. Help the world heal, one recycled phrase at a time.

Because if we can’t stop clichés…At least we can mock them.