swap the battlefield for the boardroom.

CEOs love a good war metaphor — “battlegrounds,” “offensives,” “fighting for market share.” It sounds bold. Strategic. Even inspiring.

But new research from João Cotter Salvado and Donal Crilly shows that this language may backfire — especially with financial analysts.

📉 Analysts interpret war metaphors not as strength, but as signals of recklessness and risk. In fact, just a 1% uptick in war-related language can lead to a 20% increase in negative analyst sentiment.

In volatile markets or for dominant firms, the effect is even worse.

💡 The takeaway? Words matter. Especially when the audience is trained to assess risk.

👉 Leaders: Swap the battlefield for the boardroom. Choose metaphors that signal stability, not chaos.

João Cotter Salvado and Donal Crilly

"Research: When CEOs Use War Metaphors, Analysts Worry," Harvard Business Review. January 3, 2025

#Leadership #Communication #Strategy #InvestorRelations #BusinessLanguage #CEOInsights

frame your story

There’s no way you can give a good talk unless you have something worth talking about. Conceptualizing and framing what you want to say is the most vital part of preparation.

We all know that humans are wired to listen to stories, and metaphors abound for the narrative structures that work best to engage people. When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey. A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward.

Chris Anderson

"How to Give a Killer Presentation: Lessons from TED," Harvard Business Review. June 2013

the beauty of metaphor

[Warren] Buffett is frequently asked why 90% of his investments are made in the U.S. He answers in metaphor: “America’s economic soil remains fertile.” Buffett’s explanation could fill books, but in five words a metaphor allows him to communicate complexity, simply. And that’s the beauty of metaphor.

A metaphor is a literary device by which we describe one thing in terms of another, replacing the meaning of one word with another. Aristotle promoted the use of metaphor as an element of persuasion more than 2,000 years ago in his work called The Rhetoric. Buffett is a big fan of the technique because it still works. We are hardwired to process our world in metaphor. In a few short words, an appropriate metaphor can teach us volumes about an event or situation....

One of my favorite Buffett metaphors that he’s used recently—although it didn’t make an appearance in his letter—is his description of America’s challenged healthcare system. In January, Berkshire joined Amazon and JPMorgan to create a program to reduce healthcare costs for employees. Buffett called soaring health costs “A hungry tapeworm on the American economy.”

What could be more evocative than a hungry tapeworm eating away at the inside of a system? It’s memorable and attention-grabbing. The Wall Street Journal used the metaphor as its headline to the story: “Healthcare Tapeworm Faces New Threat.”

Buffett has used unusual analogies in the past; unusual because they are unexpected in a financial report. But they serve their purpose—to explain and grab attention. 

Carmine Gallo

"Warren Buffett Loves This Ancient Tool Of Persuasion To Enliven His Annual Letters" Forbes. Feb 25, 2018