| Hack it [v.] | To be successful. “Do you think she can hack it?” |
| Hammer out [v.] | To reach a consensus after a long debate. |
| Hammock task [n.] | An assignment with very little work or responsibility. “If you gave me more than hammock tasks, maybe I could earn that raise.” Suggested by Sam M. |
| Hand-grenade close [adj.] | Roughly on-target, but with room for error. “Just get those numbers hand-grenade close and the client won’t know the difference.” |
| Hand-holding [v.] | Helping an inexperienced or incompetent person perform a task that’s beyond their abilities. “I’m so sick of hand-holding the new guy through all of our billing procedures.” Suggested by David. |
| Hang the bell on the cat [v.] | Deliberate risk-taking and leadership. “Trade secrets be damned. Bell the cat and get our name out there.” Suggested by Lou. |
| Hard hat [n.] | A derogatory term for a manual laborer. “This new robot line means redundancy for a few dozen hard hats.” |
| Hard stop [n.] | The non-negotiable end of a meeting. Usually announced at the start. “Clients are visiting this afternoon so we have a hard stop at two.” |
| Hardball [n.] | Aggressive business tactics. |
| Hatchet man [n.] | A low-ranking manager given the task of firing people. |
| Haul [n.] | A large amount of money. |
| Head shed [n.] | The offices of top company leadership. “…well if you’re so convinced, why don’t you ride on up to the head shed and demand an audience?” Suggested by Vinnie B. |
| Head shunting [v.] | The secret hiring of a head hunter to persuade an ineffectual employee to take a position at another firm. Nicely eliminates the mess of having to fire someone. |
| Head winds [n.] | Factors that slow progress. Also a convenient way to externalize the blame for project delays. Suggested by Tony. |
| Head-count freeze [exp.] | A lack of available jobs at a given company. |
| Head-down [adj.] | Describes the process of working completely uninterrupted. “I have a client meeting in two hours so I’m going to be head-down and not taking any calls.” Suggested by Matt. |
| headdesk [n.] | One’s inevitable reaction to poor treatment or abject stupidity in the workplace. “YOU: Looks like those raises are going to be delayed another three months. ME: headdesk.” Suggested by Merlion. |
| Headlight [v.] | To bring up a topic for discussion before it becomes a larger issue. |
| Headline [n.] | A single sentence summary. “Look Charles, I’m going to give you the headline: We’re downsizing and tomorrow is your last day.” Suggested by Elle B. and uplah. |
| Heads up [n.] | A notification or early warning. “I just wanted to give you the heads up about the latest contracts.” |
| Heavy lifting [n.] | The hard work. |
| Heisman, the [exp.] | Kept at arm’s length; denied. “I almost closed my last few sales calls, but they keep throwing up The Heisman.” Suggested by Pete. |
| Helicopter view [n.] | An overview or summary of an issue. “I’ve got 30 seconds so give me the helicopter view.” |
| Her-assment [v.] | Sexual harassment by a woman. |
| Herding cats [exp.] | Managing a chaotic and difficult situation. “Motivating you people is like herding cats!” |
| Heritage [n.] | The markets and business practices that have been a part of an organization since its inception. “If we don’t evolve from our heritage, we’ll be insolvent within a year.” |
| Heyday [n.] | The best of times. |
| High-wire act [n.] | A risky business situation. |
| HiPo [adj.] | High Potential. The top talent of an organization. “Identify and reward your HiPos or the competition will.” Suggested by Michelle. |
| HiPPO [v.] | Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. The deciding factor in workplace arguments. “What can we do to get HIPPO buy-in on this layout. |
| Hired guns [n.] | Specialized professionals hired by an organization. |
| Hit the fan [v.] | When a situation gets out of control. |
| Homing from work [v.] | Using technology to keep in touch with personal concerns while at work. |
| Horizontal [n.] | A product or service that benefits a wide range of companies/industries. “We have dozens of horizontals across multifarious rev streams.” Suggested by Geoff M. |
| Horsehead offer [n.] | A proposition so compelling, it can’t be refused. “He called to cancel, so I dropped the horsehead offer: 60% markdown.” |
| Hosed [adj.] | 1) Non-functional, usually in reference to technology. 2) In deep trouble. “If we can’t get these reports printed before this afternoon’s meeting, we’re hosed.” Suggested by Ben S. |
| Hot buttons [exp.] | A management idea that each employee should be responsible for decision-making. |
| Hot under the collar [exp.] | Angry. |
| Hot-desking [v.] | The practice of having a group of employees share a section on unassigned desks. |
| Hum a few bars [v.] | A request to provide a verbal summary. “Your report was far too long. Can you hum a few bars?” Suggested by Lea G. |
| Human capital [n.] | A new way of referring to employees as living assets. |
| Hump day [n.] | The middle of the week (Wednesday). Settle down. |
| Hunker-down [adj.] | To prepare for difficult business challenges ahead. “We need to hunker-down for the next round of plant shut-downs at GM.” |
| Hush money [n.] | A bribe to ensure that certain information isn’t revealed publicly. |
| Hypertasking [v.] | The practice of combining several unrelated activities into one. This often blurs the lines between personal and professional time. |
