| Macromanager [n.] | A manager that tries to direct matters outside of his department. |
| Mad money [n.] | Capital that moves quickly and unpredictably. |
| Magic bullet [n.] | The mythical perfect solution to a given business problem. “There’s no magic bullet to collateralized debt securitization.” Suggested by Steve B. |
| Major player [n.] | A person of influence and power within a given group. “So who are the major players at the table?” Suggested by David. |
| Make waves [v.] | To cause conflict or argument. |
| Making sausage [v.] | When employees discuss potential financial gains from a customer, in the presence of the customer. “The next time I catch you making sausage in front of a client, you’re fired.” Suggested by Dan. |
| Malicious obedience [n.] | The act of following a boss’s instructions explicitly, while hoping for failure. It can also involve remaining quiet about any discovered mistakes or poor judgment. |
| Management porn [n.] | A long slide presentation of useless facts and figures, created to distract managers and give them something to salivate over. Suggested by Scott. |
| Marinate [v.] | To allow some time to consider an idea privately. “I’ll just let that one marinate… Catch you on the circle back tomorrow am.” Suggested by Richard |
| Market-facing [adj.] | A role that requires interaction with clients. Contrast with the funny-looking bunch relegated to the back office. |
| Marketecture [n.] | Technical advertising, usually including diagrams. “Make sure their techies get our latest piece of marketecture.” Suggested by Matt F. |
| Matrices [n.] | A random diagram used to justify dubious calculations. “If we pause to consider the matrices…” Suggested by samuel |
| Matrix team [n.] | A group assembled from diverse departments to solve a complex problem. “Pull in a matrix team so we’re covered-off end to end.” |
| McJob [n.] | A demeaning or low ranking position. |
| Meanderthal [n.] | A person who has difficulty expressing themselves succinctly. They often give long, unfocused presentations. |
| Meat and potatoes [v.] | Basic or traditional. “Your meat and potatoes approach isn’t going to work with this crowd.” Suggested by Mrs. B. Trellis of North Wales. |
| Meat on the bone [n.] | Profits. “Give me a month. One good land will put more meat on the bone.” Suggested by Catherine M. |
| Meeting assassin [n.] | Someone who hijacks a meeting with excessive questions or endless follow-on observations. See also: Dr. Freeze. Suggested by Gary D. |
| Meeting fill [n.] | Employees that have limited knowledge, but are attentive and deferential. Prized by ineffective managers everywhere. Suggested by Rob H. |
| Melt-down [n.] | Complete product failure. |
| Meritocracy [n.] | An organization in which the success of individuals is claimed to be based only on their aptitude. |
| Meta ignorance [n.] | Being unaware of what you don’t know. A common problem for managers and politicians. |
| Mickey Mouse [adj.] | A trivial solution. |
| Milk [v.] | To take advantage of a favorable situation. “Andrea’s really milking the fact that she’s the boss’s daughter. |
| Mission critical [adj.] | Something that is vital to the success of an organization. Easy on the army lingo, solider. |
| Mom-and-pop [n.] | A small-time operation. |
| Mommy track [n.] | The dead-end career path on which those with family responsibilities sometimes find themselves. |
| Monday morning quarterback [n.] | A person who offers criticism only after something negative has occurred. |
| Moonshot Division [n.] | The internal group that works on difficult and risky projects (that have a huge potential return). Suggested by Jeff B. |
| Mouse potato [n.] | The modern cousin of the couch potato. They typically spend hour after hour in front of the computer. |
| Move the goal posts [v.] | Changing the parameters of an ongoing project. “How can we hope to deliver on time if the client keeps moving the goal posts?” Suggested by Thomas. |
| Move the needle [v.] | Tangible progress. “You talk about efficiency, but when are you going to actually move the needle?” Suggested by Jeremy. |
| Move things forward [v.] | A generic way of saying ‘get something done’, without actually having to think about what that entails. Suggested by Paul G. |
| Mucus trooper [n.] | Your colleague that always gets the worst colds, yet still makes it in to work to cough it all over you. |
| Multi-slacker [n.] | A person who can perform many unproductive things at the same time. These include phone conversations, instant messaging, and web surfing, often on company time. |
| Muppet shuffle [v.] | The shifting of under-performing or troublesome employees to other unsuspecting departments. Suggested by David. |
| Mushroom principle [n.] | A management practice that involves keeping subordinates in the dark and feeding them shit. Suggested by Elliott. |
| My understanding [n.] | A fine bit of rhetoric that avoids committing to a yes/no answer. “Is it black or white? Well my understanding is black.” Suggested by Henri |
