Microspeak: North Star – The Old New Thing (2015)
Source: Hacker News
Origin
The term north star rose quickly to prominence in October 2015. My research suggests that it had been simmering below the surface for about a year. For example, here’s an isolated citation from May 2015:
The best you can do is paint a compelling picture of an improved world (your north star), and plan the long journey to it.
This citation is interesting because it seems to give a definition for “north star”: a compelling picture of an improved world.
Definition
The speaker in a team meeting suggested looking it up in a dictionary, noting that the north star is “the goal you have beyond your immediate goal. It’s a guiding principle that keeps you on the right path for your journey.”
Curiously, this definition doesn’t appear in any online dictionary entries such as:
It also doesn’t match the citation at the top of this article.
Usage in Meetings
During a recent team meeting, the agenda included “Longer term North star topics.” The following usages were noted:
- “There may be changes along the way, but your north star of the feature is intact.”
- “We have to decide where we want to go as a north star.”
When I asked for clarification, the speaker responded with frustration, questioning my familiarity with the term.
Executive Usage
Later that same day, a top executive sent an email to the entire company that also used the term:
With Microsoft’s mission as our north star—to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more—we have a…
Notes
¹ When I attend meetings, I pay particular attention to new jargon so I can add it to my collection of citations. If you see me pulling out my phone to jot something down, it’s either a question I’ll ask later or something I want to preserve for future Microspeak citations.