Eliza Doolittle sang this phrase in My Fair Lady when she finally was about to puke over Henry Higgins' and Freddie Einsfordhill's tendency to be all talk and no action.

Could this same notion be true today in Corporate America? How about in American Politics? Are the bureaucrats "walking the walk and talking the talk?"

Maybe they are, and maybe they're not. But they're sure doing it with a lot of very clever sounding words.

Trendy, sophisticated, superior-sounding, ego-feeding "words" are rolling off the tongues of the clueless. Apparently to be successful in today's corporate and political world, it's not what you mean, it's what you say. And, as long as you can use the big 99¢ words, you'll be sure to impress the boss, fool the general public, and basically feel superior to everyone else.

Don't get me wrong. I'm an educated person. I love words - and I like to put them together in my writings. Perhaps the greatest feeling in the world is to finally find exactly the right word that fits exactly what you intend to communicate.

However, over the last umptee-ump years, I've also been privy as to how a few companies operate from the (shhh.....) "inside". I have had the pleasure to know what it's like to relate to top ranking, high profile senior executives, as well as to listen to and learn from the employees who do the grunt work everyday.

In my opinion, which by the way, is not based on any scientific data-gathering, market research, random-sampling, standard-deviation fact, but merely on my own personal observation and experience, is, that it is the employees who do the grunt work everyday who have the power to make or break a company. Another thing that I've learned, is that the best leaders recognize, value and reward this simple concept.

It amuses me no end when someone new comes into the organization and throws around a few of the latest and greatest buzzwords for the first time. All of a sudden, the management of the company is hypnotized, and in "awe" of how incredibly smart these people are.

These "people" (yes, they are regular people) usually come in the form of an MBA, an outside management consultant, or a newly hired director-in-charge of changing the world. Translation: the people here are idiots and "I'm" going to fix them!

So, I sit in some of these meetings and hear the phrases that are deemed to be the next culture-changing, newsletter-populated, presentation-pontificated "words." Then I watch the impressed and the clueless, as their jaws drop and their eyes widen. Little do they know that I secretly take notes to use as future HubPages.

So, here they are - my all-time "favorite five" winners of the buzzwords that make me want to gag.

1. Leverage. I grabbed a technical definition of leverage from whatis.com, basically describing the word as a "tool" to "exploit an advantage." So to me, this is a really nice way of saying to "use" something, or someone. Like: "I will 'leverage' my crowbar to move that big rock". Or, how about: "I will 'leverage' my position to make you feel like crap.
2. Engaged. I haven't used this word since my twenties, when I was so excited to be "engaged" to be married. Now, we need to make sure all employees are "engaged" with the company. Does this mean "til death do us part?" Don't think so.
3. Rightsizing. Down-Up-Right-Wrong. Whatever-sizing...this is a fancy word used to reduce headcount, also known as (a.k.a.) "terminate", a.k.a. "layoff", a.k.a. "fire" the poor janitor who's only making $16,000 a year plus benefits. Besides, the managers can empty the trash cans. Using this word is a great way to ease a guilty conscience.
4. Synergy. Yes, let's "leverage" this one, shall we?
5. Cross-functional. Or, is it "dysfunctional?"

Put these words all together in one complete sentence, and you have the ultimate in corporate and political wisdom:

"Let's 'leverage' a 'cross-functional' work team to brainstorm ideas to 'engage' the workforce, even though there's so much 'rightsizing' going on that it will be difficult to achieve the 'synergy' that we really need to be successful."

Dang - it makes me feel so good to SAY it!

"I could have danced all night....."