Building Successful Careers

Aim your goals high. Often this phrase is used to refer to someone who chooses a mentor who is rising in an organization (a rising star, someone who is advancing in an organization) and they are promoted to higher jobs as their mentor is promoted. ---Credited to Emerson

These literally refer to old-time wood burning cooking stoves. Stoves were used for heat as well as preparing food so they were always in use. When the cook was cooking, food was put on the front burner where she could watch it. The back burner was for things to be served or dealt with later. For example, the cook would have a pot of soup on the back burner and would add bits and pieces of food over a long period of time. It may cook for days. The soup would eventually be served to the family. So when you put something on the back burner in the business world, you delay making a decision or working on it until later. When the project hits the front burner, it has become important enough to work on now.

Food terms are often used in clichés. Soups to nuts refers to something served at the beginning of a meal, soup; to something served at the end of the meal, nuts. In the business world we mean this is all encompassing. “Tell me everything from soup to nuts.”

All languages use clichés and idioms and English is certainly no exception. We will select some clichés you may see and hear in the business world Have a Chip on the Shoulder When one has a chip on his shoulder, it means he is ready to fight. You may want to avoid this situation. Here’s another chip cliché: The Chips are Down Literally in the game of poker it means when you have placed your bet (with your chips), you cannot pull them back and change it. So when the chips are down means things are urgent and you have to deal with them.