We must stop going forward

Could 'going forward' be the biggest Gobbledy of them all?

There are few phrases that induce the wide-eyed wrath of a KillGobbledy as much as this nonsense.

It's so prevalent, it seems to have moved beyond reluctant acceptance and almost into a state of expectation. Listeners expect to hear it. Some may even be disappointed when a CEO or politician does not open every response with a grave, 'going forward'.

It's become as essential to a speech, as drawing breath.

Slippery
Technically, there isn't a lot wrong with the phrase. Going, as a gerund of the verb 'to go', forward, as in towards the future, makes sense. This, is the slippery nature of Gobbledygook. Technically, it makes sense but it just feels wrong, it jars.

So what exactly is it about 'going forward' that grates?

Is it a victim of overuse? Are we bored with the phrase? Should we expect more variety from those in the public eye?

Inane
Or perhaps it's the inanity of the statement. When used, as it often is, in the context of time, it makes no sense. Due to the nature of time, we can do no more than 'go forward', or stop completely and cease to exist. We are always going towards the future, right up until we stop.

Is it this preference for truisms over truth that touches a nerve? Whatever the reason, it's time to take a stand. Going forward must stop.

Like any successful campaign, it begins at grass roots, with your colleagues, your manager or the consultant brought in to re-engineer the value chain and create organisational synergies going forward.

They must be stopped. The next time it happens, take a stand. Tell them to stop. Hopefully in the future we may hear a speech where someone says:

"In the next few years, we will not be going forward, like everyone else. We will be progressing, evolving and speaking less Gobbledygook.

KG.

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