There is a difference between communication and camouflage.
The signal: Researchers have built a way to measure how easily people are impressed by empty corporate language — and the results are a warning for every institution, company, nonprofit, foundation, media platform, and public agency that confuses polished words with real capability.
The Financial Times recently covered the idea under the headline “Finally, a use for corporate bullshit,” noting that measuring someone’s receptiveness to business jargon could help organizations make better hiring and promotion decisions. A Cornell-linked study by Shane Littrell developed the Corporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale, finding that people more impressed by vague business-speak were worse at work-related decision-making, even when the language sounded professional. (Financial Times)
Why this matters
Corporate bullshit is not just annoying.
It is a systems failure.
When organizations reward people for sounding strategic instead of being useful, they create leaders who can talk about transformation while avoiding the practical work of actually transforming anything. The research describes corporate bullshit as confusing, jargon-heavy communication that can block clear understanding, damage trust, weaken performance, and even create financial or legal risks. (ResearchGate)
The danger: The people most impressed by vague language may also be the people most likely to protect it, repeat it, and promote it.
That creates a feedback loop:
- Empty words become strategy.
- Strategy becomes branding.
- Branding becomes funding.
- Funding becomes survival.
- Survival becomes the mission.
And the original problem remains unsolved.
The bigger story
Many institutions now speak fluent change.
- They say they are building resilience.
- They say they are advancing equity.
- They say they are accelerating innovation.
- They say they are empowering communities.
- They say they are creating impact.
But too often, the language hides the design.
- Who benefits?
- Who pays?
- Who is included?
- Who is excluded?
- What changed in real life?
- What capacity was built?
- What problem became smaller?
Those are the real tests.
A sentence can sound visionary and still mean nothing. A conference can look important and still change nothing. A report can be beautifully designed and still avoid the root cause. A nonprofit, company, foundation, or agency can use the language of service while protecting the model that keeps it alive.
The Mobilized view
We do not need more people who can “leverage cross-sector alignment to optimize stakeholder engagement.”
We need people who can say:
- Here is the problem.
- Here is who is affected.
- Here is what is causing it.
- Here is what already works.
- Here is who is doing it well.
- Here is what support is needed.
- Here is how people can take action where they are.
That is the difference between communication and camouflage.
Corporate bullshit detector: 10 practical questions
Before trusting any organization, campaign, event, grant proposal, partnership, or “thought leadership” platform, ask:
- Can they explain the work in plain language?
If not, they may not understand it. - Do they name the actual problem?
Vague problems produce vague solutions. - Do they identify who is harmed by the current system?
No affected people, no accountability. - Do they show evidence of what changed?
Activity is not impact. - Do they share power or just collect stories?
Extraction often wears the mask of inclusion. - Do they make participation affordable and accessible?
A public-interest mission behind a paywall is not public service. - Do they invite collaboration or protect their brand?
Real systems change requires cooperation, not ownership of the spotlight. - Do they publish usable knowledge?
If the output cannot be used by communities, it is mostly performance. - Do they measure capacity built, not just attention gained?
Clicks, panels, awards, and press releases are not resilience. - Would the work still matter if their logo disappeared?
That is the clearest test of service.
What replaces the bullshit
Clear language.
Say what you mean.
Open access.
Do not hide essential knowledge from the people most affected.
Evidence.
Show what works, what failed, and what still needs to be learned.
Community usefulness.
Design information so people can act on it.
Shared infrastructure.
Build tools, directories, guides, events, and action pathways that connect people across silos.
Accountability.
Measure whether life gets better, systems get stronger, and communities gain power.
The bottom line
Corporate bullshit survives because it benefits people who know how to sound important.
A healthy society needs something better: public-interest communication that helps people see clearly, decide wisely, and act together.
- Mobilized News exists for that reason.
- Not to decorate failure with better language.
- To help people detect the bullshit, find what works, and build the systems of service we actually need.