Lingo Explained : Plain Vanilla

“Plain vanilla is an adjective describing the simplest version of something, without any optional extras, by analogy with vanilla ice cream, the default flavour. Some Financial instruments like put options or call options are often described as plain vanilla options. The opposite of plain vanilla options are exotic options.”

Lingo Explained : Push The Envelope

Another idiom I see myself using occasionally is the “Push The Envelope”, where it’s come to my attention that it’s not that commonly spread as I would have imagined.

push the envelope
Fig. to expand the definition, categorization, dimensions, or perimeters of something.

The following website has a nice debrief on the matter ;

Meaning

To attempt to extend the current limits of performance. To innovate, or go beyond commonly accepted boundaries.

Origin

This phrase came into general use following the publication Tom Wolfe’s book about the space programme – The Right Stuff, 1979:

“One of the phrases that kept running through the conversation was ‘pushing the outside of the envelope’… [That] seemed to be the great challenge and satisfaction of flight test.”

Wolfe didn’t originate the term, although it’s appropriate that he used it in a technical and engineering context, as it was first used in the field of mathematics.

The envelope here isn’t the container for letters, but the mathematical envelope, which is defined as ‘the locus of the ultimate intersections of consecutive curves’. In a two-dimensional example, the set of lines described by the various positions of a ladder sliding down a wall forms an envelope – in this case an arc, gently curving away from the intersection of the wall and floor. Inside that envelope you will be hit by the ladder; outside you won’t.

(Note for the mathematically inclined: it might seem intuitive that the centre point of the ladder would follow that same arc. In fact it describes a circle centred around the origin).

That’s enough mathematics. The point is that an envelope is that which envelops. The phrase has something in common with an earlier one – ‘beyond the pale’. Inside the pale you were safe; outside, at risk.

In aviation and aeronautics the term ‘flight envelope’ had been in use since WWII, as here from the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, 1944:

“The best known of the envelope cases is the ‘flight envelope’, which is in general use in this country and in the United States… The ‘flight envelope’ covers all probable conditions of symmetrical manoeuvring flight.”

That envelope is the description of the upper and lower limits of the various factors that it is safe to fly at, that is, speed, engine power, manoeuvrability, wind speed, altitude etc. By ‘pushing the envelope’, that is, testing those limits, test pilots were able to determine just how far it was safe to go. By 1978 the phrase was in use in print. In July that year, Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine had:

“The aircraft’s altitude envelope must be expanded to permit a ferry flight across the nation. NASA pilots were to push the envelope to 10,000 ft.”

The following year, Wolfe picked up the phrase and it went from a piece of specialist technical jargon into the general language.

And on a personal note, I always link it to the following scene from my younger years…

Anyhow, it is one of the perks of acting as a fox to “push the envelope”!

How to write an advice document?

Too often… I notice that people stumble with writing advice. With some basic guidance, this shouldn’t be that hard!

So what should an advice document look like? Let’s start with the high level skeleton of this document ;

Management Summary
Most (upper) management does not have the time / interested to go into details. Do not get annoyed by this, it’s just how it is… Therefor start off your document with a “management summary”! This in fact an Elevator Pitch or the details of the document below. In regards to timing, this is the last chapter you write. Yet do NOT put it at the end as a “Conclusion”, but in front as a “Management Summary”.

Context
Context matters! Really… CONTEXT MATTERS! 😉 Describe the specifics of the environment you are working in. Describe the culture, the principles at hand, the history of things, … anything that matters into shaping your advice.

Current Situation
Do not jump to conclusions! First describe the starting point… Why do you want to advice things? There is nothing wrong with the way we are working now, or is there? Give an indication towards the circumstances and the effect of those aspects.

Ideal Situation
Now describe your “ideal” (given the context!) situation. Provide a thorough insight into the aspects the ideal situation solves and the motivation why you want to change things.

Path to…
Now we know the starting & the targeted goal, so it is time to set the path. In most cases, an immediate jump towards the end goal is not feasible. In that case, describe the intermediate steps that need to be accomplished to reach the goal.

I hope this was helpful and improves the advice documents you write. Anyhow, here is a quick cheat sheet to in case of emergency… 😉