Corporate-speak: what does 'in the round' actually mean?

[StealthPolarBear]

It's popped up in the last year

It means considering the implication or impact of something from all sides, rather than just one area.

To be honest I'm struggling to explain it without using more corporate speak, does that make sense?

Yes it means from all angles.

So when we're asked to comment on something "in the round"...
I have a feeling half the people who use it also don't know.

It comes from the theatre - where the actors and action take place in the middle of the audience, so people can walk around and see the play and action from different angles.

Think of
seeing the big picture
all things considered

So you need to consider your proposals from Marketing, Finance, IT and HR perspectives.
As an example - one of the colleges I work at took on board the tutors' request for less paperwork. They cam up with an on line register for attendance, got all the IT software sorted, laid on training courses, setting up log ons etc. What did they forget - Health and safety and hardware. In the event of an evacuation I need to take my register with me to check the class has evacuated. And my class room doesn't have a computer anyway. They hadn't thought the problem out in the round and now have increased my workload as I have to complete an on line register and a paper one. So they missed out on 3 areas.

Thank you, really good examples! Why has it just popped up though?

I don’t think it’s new really, definitely something were saying in law firms (to mean consider the commercial as well as legal implications usually) ten years ago.

*we were

Maybe it's just jumped industries then :)

It refers to what people will look like when they return to work after lockdown

Sounds like it has Stealth! I can only apologise!

haven't had a job in the corporate world for nigh on 20 years and it was in use then. the phrase goes back a long way. It's probably been in, out and back in fashion again during that time. It's even in the song Billy Jean by Michael Jackson from the 1980s!

Corporate-speak: what does 'in the round' actually mean?

Bugger all.

Overall

DPOT TER
Was sitting here wondering if I should mention Billie Jean 🤣🤣🤣but I guess we should examine the usage of this phrase in the round 🤣

thought it was knitting terminology

backs out of thread

I know what it means but my mind always changes it to in the nude, in the buff, or in the nuddy.

There is no other 'in the x' phrase that isn't about being naked. So in the round just makes me think of chubby naked people.

I did ponder about mentioning it as well Helter - but decided against self censorship!

Have you had a new person joined that's a shaker upper? Whenever a new Person joins our company everyone starts mimicking them. Within days of my boss joining we were calling PowerPoint slides "decks"