“Vertically-stupid” is my shorthand for a thoroughly misguided idea or decision that manages to climb through the ranks of an organization, before anyone realizes how worthless it truly is.
I come up with these goofy sardonic turns-of-phrase, every so often. Here's one that I just used today (and thought "hey I should write this down!") --
It’s akin to creating a new initiative, shiny tool, or even business vertical (pun intended) that, in hindsight, turns out to be completely useless to producing any value. So useless, in fact, that someone in a boardroom somewhere asks "who TF thought of this?!" (I have seen this actually happen in project meetings, with nobody in-attendance owning the vertically-stupid idea).
This phrase underscores how institutional blind spots can entrench bad thinking, making it appear valid at every level despite its glaring flaws. Only with retrospect do we see just how deeply and systematically foolish it was all along. In other words, “Vertically-stupid”.
Stay-tuned for more JDub-isms in the future...