Pinned Terms — Ep. 001: "ALIGNED"
In high-stakes work, “aligned” is a friendly word that can hide five different agreements. That’s how teams leave a meeting smiling… and reopen the same decision two days later.
“Aligned” is a magnet word. People nod while hearing different contracts: goal, scope, definitions, next step, and permission. The fix is simple: pin the term to one meaning in this room, then log it so future-us inherits the map.
Move: Pin the term.
Why it matters: Shared motion needs shared meaning. A 20-second definition prevents a two-meeting rewind.
Panel 1
Malik: “Alright—are we ALIGNED? Let’s ship the first strip!”
Juno: “Aligned… on WHAT exactly? Tone? Topic? Audience?”
Lila: “Classic magnet word. ‘Aligned’ pulls FIVE meanings at once.”
Caption: “Welcome to the comic where we REPAIR meaning”
Panel 2
Amina: “Red flag—quick reset. I want to understand before we draw conclusions.”
Amina: “Malik, when you say ‘ALIGNED,’ what do you mean in THIS room?”
Sign: “Pinned Term: ALIGNED = ___…?”
Lila: “Definition check: same goal, same scope, or same decision rule?”
Panel 3
Board: “ALIGNED = 1) Same Goal 2) Same Meaning for Key Words 3) Next Step: Owner + Due Date”
Hart: “Logged. Now future-us inherits the map.”
Malik: “Perfect. Now ‘ship’ means publish… not cargo.”
Voice: “And yes—our panel borders are finally ALIGNED!”
What word in your workplace keeps pretending it’s clear?
Pinned Terms is a weekly Meaning Repair comic from What Time Binds. If this helped, share the link and tell me which word you want pinned next.