How do you like them apples?

20131121-190604.jpg

Comparing apples with apples isn’t a thing.

As the go-to metaphor for every tired, sagging, business discussion, are we comparing apples with apples? is pretty baffling. Who actually compares apples anyway? If they’re radically different varieties of apple, such as a Bramley versus a Pink Lady, or a three-way contest between a disappointingly small Braeburn, a crisp Golden Delicious and a sultry Jazz, the whole apple comparison is invalidated.

It comes to something when your business problems are more readily understood when translated into apple-based analogies. Have you considered a career change?

Equating tedious product features with different apples is not a brilliant shorthand for much, and not much easier than saying “are these the same?”

There. I’ve just saved you 6 syllables per meeting. You could use them to say something more constructive. Like “shut up about apples”.

Leave a comment