An Easy Solution: Write Simply
Solutioning. If this word is in your vocabulary, please stop using it now. Or, don't: you're putting food on the table of us copywriters.
Words like solutioning—transforming a noun into a verb in place of the perfectly useful "solving"—are unfortunate corporate inspeak. Why work on solving a problem, err, challenge, when you can be solutioning it?
I can tell you why, she says, reaching for her Strunk & White. Copywriting is the craft of articulating an idea in clear, concise language. "Solutioning" and its kin—"actionable," "deliverables," "disincent (-ivize)," "impactful," etc.—are the verbal equivalent of the slips tacked to a magazine's spine, keeping it from laying flat, obscuring the pages and obstructing your reading.
Now, I don't think these words are created with bad intent. But once they enter the lexicon, they tend to proliferate. And good people use them.
After I meet with a client who communicates in business-ese, the first thing I do is peel back the layers. Consider this real-life example: "[Company X's] clients are generally leaders in their market niche and our assistance becomes a differential advantage to that leadership position."
How would I write that in plain English? Easy. "We help our clients stay ahead of the competition." Better yet, I'd answer the so-what. "We help our clients increase sales and improve productivity, so they stay ahead of the competition." If only every writing assignment were so simple to, ahem, solve.
— Diane Richard, writer, drichard@bitstream.net