IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS - LESSON 6

at the end of the day in summary; when we look back on this after we're finished EXAMPLE: At the end of the day, the most important thing is how many cases of product we were able to ship this year.

NOTE: This expression is now overused. You will likely hear it, but you may not want to use it. SYNONYM: when all is said and done

PRACTICE THE IDIOMS

Fill in the blanks, using the following idioms:

1. working down to the wire 2. get the job done 3. cutting it close 4. 24/7 5. reality check 6. fine-tuning 7. work out the kinks

8. does whatever it takes

Tom is a plant manager at Chocolate Delights, a manufacturer of chocolate. To prepare for the holiday season, the chocolate factory operates ________ and doesn't shut down for even an hour. Tom is very hardworking and every year __________to get a large amount of chocolate produced to meet the holiday demand. This year, Chocolate Delights decided to make a new type of chocolate Santa Claus. There were some problems with the manufacturing process, but Tom was able to _____ It was just a matter of _____ one of the machines. Tom's goal is to have 100,000 boxes of chocolate ready to ship by November 1. Will he reach this goal? Probably, but he'll _____Nancy, Tom's boss, is afraid he's _____ this year. "Time for a _____," she told him this morning. "If you don't speed up production, you're not going to reach your

quota." Tom just smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I'll _____ . You can count on me."

ANSWER KEY p.157

Lesson 5

TALKING ABOUT COMPANY STRATEGY

Andy and Laura work for Saltonica, a maker of cell phones. Sales have been slow lately, so Andy is recommending the company adopt a new strategy. Andy: My team has come up with a new strategy. We can't continue being fast followers. We need to start developing our own cutting-edge technologies. Laura: Why? We've been fast followers for the past ten years. Why mess with success?

Andy: Success? Get with the program. Our sales are way down. Our cash cow, the Model 8B, only sold 900 units last month! Laura: I can understand why. That phone's a relic. It's been around for over three years. What about our new phones? Andy: Our latest model cell phone was a real dog! It sold only 20 percent of our sales forecast. Laura: Any idea why? Andy: Product life cycles are much shorter now than before. New technologies are developed at a much faster rate. Laura: So, what are we supposed to do?

(to) get with the program to pay attention to what's going on right now; to be alert to what's happening now

EXAMPLE: Get with the program. Our competitors have all started to outsource their call centers to India to save money, while we're still paying a fortune here in the United States!

cash cow a product, service, or business division that generates a lot of cash for the company, without requiring much investment

EXAMPLE: With strong sales every year and a great brand name, Mercedes is a cash cow for DaimlerChrysler.

real dog a bad product; a commercial failure

EXAMPLE: In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company released New Coke. It was a real dog and was in stores for only a few months.

me-too products: products that are extremely similar to another company's products; copies

Our latest model cellphone was a real dog!

EXAMPLE: Procter & Gamble is a company famous for innovation. They rarely produce me-too products.

(to) leapfrog one's competitors to make a product that is technologically superior to competitors' products

EXAMPLE: Logitech introduced a product that leapfrogged its competitors: a mouse that was both wireless and ergonomic.

NOTE: Leapfrog is a popular children's game in which one child bends down and another jumps over him or her.

for starters as a first step; to begin with

EXAMPLE: You want to do business in Russia? For starters, I'd recommend setting up an office in Moscow.

(to) beef up to improve; to add to

EXAMPLE: Leave plenty of extra time at the airport. Ever since they beefed up security, it takes a long time to get through the lines.

at a high price at a relatively high price at a premium

EXAMPLE: When flat-screen televisions first came out, they were selling at a premium.

(to) get buy-in (from) to get agreement or approval from

EXAMPLE: To be an effective leader, you need to get buy-in for your decisions from employees throughout the organization.