Etym.From French cascade meaning 'waterfall', repurposed in business jargon during the early 2010s by a consultant looking for a softer word for reassignment; see Journal of Strategic Rhetoric, 2014.

A cascade is a staged transfer of responsibility or risk down a sequence of teams, employed to postpone accountability and preserve appearances.

'We'll cascade these deliverables into Q4 to manage external expectations' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 47

Etym.From electrical-engineering jargon for spectral capacity, repurposed by corporate communicators in the 1990s to quantify time and attention, see H. L. Carrington, Corporate Lexicon Review 1999.

A polite, numeric-sounding metaphor used to excuse declined requests by attributing failure to limited human time or attention.

'I don't have the bandwidth for that' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 12

Etym.from the nautical image of an unclouded firmament, adopted into managerial parlance in the 1970s corporate planning era, see Harrows 1978 Strategic Horizons.

A rhetorical maneuver that authorizes speculative, unfunded initiatives by rebranding idle optimism as legitimate planning.

'Schedule blue sky exploration days to seed next-generation products' - Q2 Offsite Summary

Etym.from 1990s management-speak blending the words value and add, crystallized in consulting deck vernacular; see Marshall, Presentations and Capital, 2001.

A rhetorical placeholder that asserts unspecified benefit to justify projects, reallocate credit, or delay measurable evaluation.

'We should prioritize the customer-facing feature for its clear value-add,' - Q2 Roadmap Memo