Move the Needle

What it means

To produce a measurable result, a phrase used almost exclusively by people who have not produced one and are now asking you to.

What it actually means

I need a number with my name on it by Friday.

How it is used in a sentence

"We need to be honest about whether this work is really moving the needle."

Filed under

Business Bafflegab — Language engineered so that nothing is ever anyone’s fault and no decision is ever final.

Bafflegab — The phrase means nothing. We are ridiculing it.

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