Etym.From the imperative popularized in Silicon Valley startup culture, notably a 2010 internal memo titled 'Break Things', cited in Porter, Startup Ethos (2014).

A managerial slogan that rebrands negligent product launches as principled experimentation, thereby obscuring risk, accelerating release schedules, and deflecting accountability.

'Break things, then iterate' - Engineering All-Hands, Q2 2013

Etym.from L. iterare, 'to repeat a journey,' revived in managerial jargon after an influential 2012 product memo, see Holloway, Corporate Recursions, 2014.

A verb applied to repetitive adjustments that reframes delay and indecision as methodical progress.

'Team will iterate on the UX next sprint' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 47

Etym.From Gk. holos, 'whole,' reintroduced into boardroom parlance circa 2009 as holistic by a brand strategist who needed a term implying totality without measurable content, Baxter 2011, Journal of Strategic Buzz.

An adjective deployed to expand descriptive scope while deflecting requests for metrics, timelines, or accountable ownership.

'We will adopt a holistic roadmap to drive cross-functional alignment' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 47