Redefinition Thinking
A thought process and business practice that consists of closely examining a word we use in our business, deciding that we want it to have some new meaning, committing to the redefinition that comes out of that process, and publishing it in our marketing materials.
The practice attaches a 2nd (or 100th, as the case may be) definition of every word, term, or phrase that is important to one’s business.
Notes
Key inputs to Redefinition Thinking include:
- Writing and rewriting definitions, first and foremost.
- Compiling those definitions into public dictionaries. These are self-referential.
- Grouping them with tagging-style categorization and cross-referencing (eg is it lingo or jargon?)
- Knowing all relevant shades of meaning offered by prominent dictionary institutions/businesses (ie, the Oxford English Dictionary, for English; the Spanish Royal Academy's Dictionary of Spanish, for Spanish; Google, for any language)
- publishing content that relies on our definitions, to validate their meaning
Key outputs to Redefinition Thinking include:
- internal clarity in thinking
- clarity in external communication
- cultivation of expertise
- reputation for expertise or ownership of key business practices
Redefinition thinking is practiced to some limited extent by almost everyone in business (eg "that's not a pizza, this is a pizza!" *shows photo of pizza).
The Redefinition Thinking approach is additive, not subtractive. Thus, it doesn't purport to provide "the" sole meaning of a word. Nor does it refute prior definitions from established dictionaries. It may or may not consist of refuting definitions made by competing thinkers. More likely, it's building on their definitions based on agreement and shared understanding ("Yes, and").