Venturespeak 102: Reference Calls

Reference ChecksEnglish Translation
A bit controversialUniformly despised
A bit of a loose cannonGenerates a huge number of poorly-thought out ideas
A bit of a head caseTotally wacko
A little bit headstrongStubborn, completely inflexible
A little eccentricA dangerous psychopath
A very nice personIneffectual
Benefits from close supervisionDon’t count on her to do anything right
Capable of offering different points of viewTwo-faced
Consensus orientedHopelessly indecisive
Could make more efficient use of her timeHopelessly unfocused
Could rub people the wrong way at timesThoroughly arrogant
DifferentReally weird
EntrepreneurialTotally uncontrollable, bordering on maniacal
Frequently makes suggestionsChronic complainer
Fundamental differencesDidn’t speak to each other for over a year
Has a tendency to put his own slant on realityLies regularly
Has been through a real learning curveMistakes cost company millions
He can sell ice to an EskimoA liar and a cheat
Independent thinkerComplete crackpot, syn. with “Creative almost to a fault”
Job eliminated due to restructuringWe ran out of ideas for where to put this person
Left to pursue other opportunitiesWas fired summarily
Missed objectives from time to timeConsistently screwed up assignments
More of an individual contributorDirect reports were left hopelessly adrift
Not afraid to speak their mindCriticizes management frequently
Occasionally needs a kick in the pantsLazy beyond belief
People skills could be strongerCo-workers hate him passionately
Process-orientedLacks any useful knowledge
References are impeccableA good guy
References are fairly strongBetter candidates can be easily found
References raised a couple of issuesA complete bozo
Slight difference in operating philosophiesHated each other’s guts
Somewhat of a taskmasterAn autocratic, oppressive dictator
Strong communication skillsTalks on the telephone all the time
Thinks somewhat abstractlyTotally impractical
Very quantitative orientationSpends the day in the office playing on the PC
Was respected more than likedWe drew straws to see who could fire him
Wasn’t handicapped by lack of egoInsufferably conceited
You have to watch him a littleHe’ll rob you blind
(Source: Unknown — Please reach out if you know so I can properly credit it)