I remember reviewing a financial consultant’s report when I came across a sentence that read something like this:

The current sales plan appears to be hinging on positive revenue assumptions which are orthogonal to historical trends.

I thought I knew what “orthogonal” meant, but I looked it up nevertheless.  According to Merriam-Webster:

Definition of ORTHOGONAL

1 a :  intersecting or lying at right angles
b :  having perpendicular slopes or tangents at the point of intersection

The forecast showed trends that reversed immediately at the beginning of the forecast and turned positive, at a right angle to the historical trend.  I made a chart to illustrate this picture.

I don’t know about you, but to me, traditional “hockey stick projections” are just not as cool as “orthogonal projections.”

While reflecting on the meaning of the word orthogonal, you might want to investigate the Ownership Transition Bundle, which includes both of my recent books, Unlocking Private Company Wealth and Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held and Family Business Owners.  Both books are available for $35 (plus s/h).  If you read these books, you might think in terms of orthogonal behavior for your management and ownership transition plans.  Available here.

Until next time, be well!

Chris