K

 

 

KAIZEN. Japanese term for continuous improvement through incremental change. In the 1980s, so many American managers studied Japanese production methods that the term has become part of American business jargon.

 

“Kaizen: This Japanese term for continuous improvement involves constant small steps to improve efficiency.” (Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2004, p.  A1)

KEEP A CLOSE EYE/TAB ON (TO). Watch carefully.

“< xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" prefix="st1" namespace="">Aetna still keeps a close eye on costs, but it is trying to make allies out of former enemies. Aetna's chief medical officer, William Popik, cites a case last year when his department tracked down three hemophilia experts, seeking advice about treating a hemophiliac boy whose care was costing $500,000 a month.” (Wall Street Journal Aug13, 2004, p.  A1)

KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID (KISS). A business slogan suggesting that plans should be kept clear and logical.

“Most insurance agents in the work site marketing arena were weaned on the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) method of payroll deduction installations.” (Broker World, Aug. 1995, p. 10)

KEEP UP WITH THE JONES (TO). Strive, especially beyond one’s income, to socialize and spend like others in the same neighborhood.

 

“This allows for the idea that households care about their relative standard of living, or the saying goes, they want ‘to keep up with the Jones.’” (Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Feb. 1994, p. 1)

KEEP ONE POSTED (TO). Keep one informed.

KEYSTONE (TO). Mark up the price of a good 100% of its cost.

 

“The art dealer will double the price I give him, and the retailer will keystone it too.” (Chet Allenchey, CAMMEO Art and Photography, 1996)

KICKBACK. A bribe.

“The suits accuse the brokers of failing ‘to adequately disclose . . . under-the-table payments or kickbacks received from insurers.’ As a result, they allege, ‘defendants are able to reap tens of millions of dollars in additional fees while purporting to provide independent and unbiased brokerage advice.’"(Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2004 p. C3)

KICK BUTT (TO). Outwit or overwhelm the competition.

“Alfred Chuang, chief executive and co-founder of BEA, says a recent slowdown in BEA's sales growth ‘is totally macroeconomic. I'm not seeing the competition.’ Moreover, computer-services businesses such as Accenture, of Hamilton, Bermuda, that compete with IBM often recommend BEA because of the company's technology. ‘Our stuff kicks butt,’ he says.” (Wall Street Journal, Nov 1, 2001, p. B6)

KICK OFF (TO). Beginning; to initiate (football).

“Faces in the Crowd. The fall TV season kicks off later this month with more new characters than ever. Below, some of those that industry insiders say will stand out. William Shatner as Denny Crane, "Boston Legal", ABC, Sunday 10 p.m.” (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 20, 2004, p. W1)

KICK/PUSH UPSTAIRS (TO). Promote out of the way.

“Mr. Roberts, 36 years old, didn't want the usual kick upstairs to chairman, with its out-to-pasture connotations. So he dreamed up a title with more flair. FireDrop's main product is an e-mail program named Zaplet.” (Wall Street Journal, Sept 5, 2000,  p. A1)

KILLING. A large, quick profit.

 

“Yet almost no one expects to make a killing by selling or licensing browser software. The real money is in the overall Internet products and services business, of which the browser business is but a small part.” (Informationweek, Oct. 23, 1995, p. 81)

 

KILLJOY. Unenthusiastic person.

 

“But debunking such bunk and mocking believers is part of this sport's attraction. ‘Ruining people's day is fun,’ says Mr. Lasner, a self-confessed killjoy who works from a home office cluttered with computer carcasses and empty peanut cans.” (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 22, 1993,  p.A1)

 

KIND OF NEAT. Somewhat interesting.

 

“Mrs. Tucknott, a nurse who still works part time in a local hospital, says what sold her on the neighborhood, and Beaufort in general, is that they feel like real places, not a retirement village. ‘This could actually become a small town,’ she says. ‘That's kind of a neat feeling, that I could be part of founding a city.’"(Wall Street Journal, Aug. 9, 2004, p. R7)

 

KINGPIN/FISH. Boss, important person.

 

“Loyal, Web-savvy customers are giving PC kingpin Dell a lift in its nascent printer line. The company sold 1.5 million printers in the last 9 months of 2003, according to Gartner Inc.” (Business Week, April 19, 2004,  p. 87)

KISS OF DEATH. Final blow; signal that something will fail.

KISS A LOT OF FROGS (TO). Keep looking until one finds what one wants. The saying comes from the story The Frog Prince, wherein a prince is doomed to be a frog until he is kissed by a princess.

KISS UP TO. Flatter; BROWN-NOSE.

KIT AND CABOODLE. Including everything.

KITCHEN CABINET. Close advisors to a president of the United States. The term originated with President Andrew Jackson, when he suspended Cabinet meetings and met with close friends.

KITE A CHECK (TO). Write a check without sufficient funds to cover it.

KITING.  Writing checks before the funds are available.  Taking advantage of the float, the time between a check is written and when it clears the bank account.

KNEE-JERK REACTION. To act without thinking, thoughtless response.

“‘The common knee-jerk reaction that a minimum-wage hike hurts small entrepreneurs is not a calculated economic response,’ says Kathryn Wylde, president of Partnership for New York City, a powerful nonprofit group of CEOs founded by David Rockefeller.” (Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2004, p. B3)

KNOCKOFF. An unlicensed copy of a product.

“Piracy is such a way of life in China that people are surprised when a movie, software package or handbag bought there is not ripped off. Months before General Motors began selling its $7,500 Chevrolet Spark in China in December, a $6,000 knockoff version, the Chevy QQ, with the same grinning front end but missing some subtle details (like an airbag), was cruising Chinese streets.” < xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" prefix="v" namespace="">(Forbes, Feb. 16, 2004, p. 58)

KNOCK OUT COLD, KO (TO). Overwhelm the competition (boxing).

KNOCK THEIR SOCKS OFF (TO). Defeat the competition.

“Shares of the seller of nutritional and personal-care products look cheap: The more expensive of its two classes of shares trades for a mere seven times trailing earnings. And Herbalife's dividend yield ‘is enough to knock your socks off,’ says analyst Patricia Negron of Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston.” (Wall Street Journal, July 23, 1999, p. C2)

KNOW-IT-ALL. Someone who shows off their knowledge; conceited person.

“The wide-ranging freelance intellectual of a few generations ago has given way to the Ph.D. know-it-all, an arrogant specialist who, gratifying his ego and padding his wallet, gladly pronounces on matters about which he is an idiot." (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 15, 2002, p. A14)

KNUCKLE DOWN (TO). Focus; work hard.

“According to David Drinkwalter, a former executive at Ontario Hydro who is now a consultant with Resource Associates Canada Inc. of London, Ont.: ‘Governments need to knuckle down and display real intestinal fortitude in their commitment to deregulation.’" (Maclean’s, Feb. 5, 2001, p. 35)

KNUCKLE UNDER (TO). Give in, concede.

KOHLBERG, KRAVIS, ROBERTS (KKR). KKR is a merger and acquisition firm most famous for arranging the $29 billion buyout of R. J. Reynolds Company in 1989.

“Although a formal auction for Amadeus isn't under way, companies that have made the most progress in putting together bids to buy out Amadeus's core shareholders include U.S. private-equity firms Bain Capital Inc., Carlyle Group LP and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., say people familiar with the situation.” (Wall Street Journal,  August 18, 2004, p. A1)

KONDRATIEFF CURVE. Economic theory, named after a Soviet statistician, suggesting that the world economies move in fifty-year cycles. Stalin was not pleased with this analysis, and Kondratieff spent time in Siberia.

KOOSHING. Rejecting someone for a job.

KOWTOW (TO). Cater to; defer to (Chinese).

“‘The Fed is almost taunting them [the GSEs] a little bit, and letting them know the Fed is going to call the shots, and is not going to bow down or kowtow to the GSEs,’ said Bert Ely, a banking analyst who is critical of the mortgage giants.” (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 6, 2004,  p. A2)

K&R INSURANCE. Kidnap and ransom insurance.

“Commercial policyholders with operations in Iraq are increasingly seeking kidnap and ransom insurance coverage for their staff in the region following a spate of kidnappings. In the past month, about 50 foreign workers in Iraq have been kidnapped, prompting some governments to advise civilians working there to leave the country.” (Business Insurance, May 3, 2004, p. 25)

 

KUDOS. Congratulations, approval (Greek).

 

“Mr. Crocker joined Wachovia's mutual-fund team in February 1997, when Wachovia, then called First Union Corp., was expanding its stable of funds. By 2000, Mr. Crocker was the portfolio manager of $1 billion in high-yield bonds and winning kudos for his savvy investment strategies.” (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 6, 2004, p. C3)