We’ve seen it again and again – especially in an era of rapid-growth from garage start-up to corporate giant. Companies start out lean and mean and hungry. Their founders have a great idea and a vision that evolves through hard work, innovative products, and eventually an IPO into a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the NASDAQ Composite.

We hear them all the time. We use them, sometimes without giving them a second thought. Over time, some become part of the corporate lingo, while others vanish and are replaced by new ones. They are known as corporate “buzzwords” – words or phrases that invade corporate culture and are seen to echo popular sentiments or trends. So reports The New York Times.  

Flat organizations, which seek to reduce layers of corporate bureaucracy and management tiers, have long been the stuff of business school case studies.