When Steve Walker became CEO of Amicus Horizon, he made a clear and simple decision.
Stop saying ‘stock’.
In housing associations, homes are often referred to as stock.
It’s cold and clinical. As if they’re dealing in tins of beans, not places where people live their lives.
When Steve took over, he insisted, everyone in the organisation would call them ‘homes’.
‘We don’t manage stock,’ he’d enthuse. ‘We provide homes.’
That one word changed everything.
Words Matter More Than You Think
This wasn’t about rebranding or a clever internal campaign. It was about culture.
Changing ‘stock’ to ‘homes’ reminded everyone what their work was really about. Not assets. Not units. But people. Families. Lives.
It channelled how staff spoke.
It challenged how decisions were made.
It changed the way they felt about what they were doing.
Words do more than describe culture.
They create it.
You’ve experienced it. Say something one way and it sounds hollow. Say it differently and it lands.
Here are a few more examples where a single word can change how people think, feel or act.
Patients → Customers
Some NHS Trusts started calling patients customers. It was controversial. But it raised a good question. ‘If you were paying directly for this service, would you expect to be treated differently?’
Staff → Colleagues
Staff sounds like a hierarchy. Colleagues feels like shared purpose. Used with sincerity, it shifts how people relate to each other.
Complaint → Feedback
A complaint feels like a problem. Feedback feels like a conversation. One word opens up curiosity instead of defensiveness.
Spend → Invest
You don’t spend on training. You invest in people. 😉 That shift alone can change how budgets are approved and how training is valued.
Diet → Fuel plan
This one’s a little playful. But powerful. A diet feels restrictive. A fuel plan sounds intentional. Same goal. Different feeling.
What word changes have motivated you 🚀?
And what made you go urghhh 🤮?
Change a word. Change the energy. Change the outcome.
That’s the power of language.
What’s your word? Please leave a comment here.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
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