During the first business ESL podcast in this series, we studied many such war and military related idioms. We learned the meaning of “taking flak,” “reinforcing one’s position,” “laying low,” “making a move” and many others. In this podcast, we will continue exploring useful war idioms.

The dialog picks up where we left off at the Luminex management meeting. Jane has just explained that they need to think “strategically.” He explains that this means “laying low,” by which he means waiting to take action until the economy improves.

As you listen, pay attention to the war idioms Jane and her colleagues use. You may not understand them the first time. After you hear the debrief, go back and listen again, then things should be much clearer.

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Study Notes	Phrases & Practice	BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Quiz BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Gap-fill BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Dialog & Vocabulary BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Language 1 BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Language 2 BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Language 3 BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 2 – Flashcards

Listening Questions: BEP 74 ADV – Idioms: Business is War (Part 2)

1) What does Jane mean when she says their competitor, Meyers, is its own worst enemy?

With the economy worsening, Jane feels that Meyers will not be able to continue or sustain its aggressive strategy of both releasing mid-range products to compete with Luminex and maintaining a leading position in the premium market. Meyers’ strategy will defeat itself, so Meyers is “its own worst enemy.”

2) The speakers describe their new strategy as an “ambush” that will “surround” Meyers. Why do they say this? What is the strategy?

They mean that when the economy starts to improve (consumer spending picks up) they can both refresh, that is re-release or re-advertise, their mid-range products as well as release a premium product to attack Meyers’ traditionally strong position in the high end of the market. Since this is attacking Meyers from both sides, it “surrounds” Meyers. Also, it will be unexpected, so it is an “ambush.”

Business and war. War and business. It’s no accident that many business strategies and management techniques were first developed in the military. Actually, it’s quite natural that we think about business competition in terms of war. Companies fight each other for market share. We strategize about how to win the battle. You try to attack my market position, and I defend it. Business is full of such war idioms. Though it’s not the only way we think about business, it is certainly the main way we talk about it. Therefore, to communicate effectively in a business environment, we need to learn these war idioms.

That’s what we’ll be doing in this two-part series. In today’s dialog, the management at Luminex, a producer of LCD TVs, is discussing how to respond to a attack on their market position by a competitor, Meyers. Traditionally, Meyers has been strong in the premium (high value) market and Luminex has been strong in the mid-range market. Recently, however, Meyers has tried to take mid-range market share from Luminex.

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Study Notes	Phrases & Practice	BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Quiz BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Gap-fill BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Dialog & Vocabulary BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Language 1 BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Language 2 BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Language 3 BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War 1 – Flashcards

Listening Questions: BEP 73 ADV – Idioms: Business is War (Part 1)

1) The first two speakers talk about “always being on the defensive” and “taking way too much flak.” What do they mean and what do they propose doing?

The first two speakers feel that while their main competitor, Meyers, has been attacking their market position and giving them fierce competition, they have been doing little to respond. They propose “setting their sights on” or targeting Meyers’ premium market position in order to fight back.

2) How does Jane’s point of view differ from the first two speakers?

Jane along with the other speaker note that because American consumer spending is going down, it is not a good time to move into the premium market. Jane believes it is wiser to “lay low” or to wait until spending improves to fight back.