Business loves complexity.
Dashboards. Frameworks. Methodologies. Acronyms.
And yet, when you strip away the noise, most successful businesses are quietly guided by something far simpler:
Short, durable sentences that explain how work really works.
Sayings that survive because they keep proving true.
That’s the foundation behind A Collection of Business Expressions That Still Work — a curated library of 250 timeless business expressions, organized across Marketing, Sales, Leadership, People Development, Strategy, Finance, Innovation, and Customer Experience.
These are not motivational posters.
They are not trendy buzzwords.
They are compressed experience.
Each expression in this book represents a pattern that has shown up thousands of times across industries, company sizes, and decades. Patterns of what tends to succeed. Patterns of what tends to fail. Patterns of human behavior inside organizations.
Together, they form a practical field guide to better thinking.
This eBook is free and can be ordered here: https://mediamediainc.com/product/a-collection-of-business-expressions-that-still-work/
Why Short Phrases Carry So Much Power
Human brains remember phrases better than paragraphs.
We remember:
“Confused customers don’t buy.”
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
“Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is king.”
We remember them because they are simple.
And simplicity travels.
Great expressions work because they:
• Create fast clarity
• Reframe problems instantly
• Short-circuit overthinking
• Provide shared language inside teams
A good expression becomes a mental shortcut. Instead of debating for twenty minutes, someone says a sentence… and the room nods.
That’s leverage.
Not Quotes. Not Rules. Not Guarantees.
This book intentionally avoids presenting these expressions as laws.
Context matters.
Judgment matters.
No single sentence is universally correct.
Instead, think of each expression as a signpost.
It doesn’t tell you exactly what to do.
It points you toward what to consider.
That distinction matters.
Because wisdom rarely shouts.
It usually whispers.
What You’ll Find Inside the Book
Each entry contains:
• The expression itself
• A plain-English explanation
• The individual most commonly associated with the idea (when known)
The explanations are written in practical business language — not academic theory.
You’ll find insights covering:
Marketing
Positioning, differentiation, trust, clarity, and attention.
Sales
Discovery, value, follow-up, qualification, and momentum.
Leadership
Culture, standards, decision-making, and accountability.
People Development
Coaching, feedback, psychological safety, and growth.
Strategy
Focus, tradeoffs, leverage, and execution.
Finance
Cash flow, margins, risk, and financial literacy.
Innovation
Experimentation, learning loops, MVP thinking, and disruption.
Customer Experience
Consistency, ease, recovery, retention, and trust.
Together, they create a panoramic view of how businesses actually function — not how slide decks pretend they function.
A Book Designed to Be Opened, Not Finished
This is not a cover-to-cover book.
It’s a browse book.
A desk book.
A “flip-to-the-section-you-need” book.
Use it:
• When planning a meeting
• When something feels off
• When you’re stuck on a decision
• When training new employees
• When diagnosing problems
One sentence can unlock a stuck conversation.
That’s the entire point.
Who This Book Is For
This book is for:
• Business owners
• Managers
• Entrepreneurs
• Operators
• Team leads
• Consultants
• Anyone responsible for outcomes
If you like practical thinking more than motivational fluff, this book was written for you.
About the Author – Phil Peretz
Phil Peretz is a lifelong entrepreneur and business operator with decades of experience across advertising, media, manufacturing, retail, technology sales, and marketing services.
Phil began working in business as a child, learning research, problem-solving, and customer service through family-run ventures. As a teenager, he sold door-to-door, ran a paper route, worked as a youth photographer, and developed an early blend of creativity and commerce that would shape his career.
After high school, Phil moved into advertising and media, holding roles in newspaper sales, classified advertising management, art direction, operations, radio advertising, retail operations, and technology sales.
In the early 1990s, Phil joined Kinko’s as a commercial sales representative and became the #1 sales rep in the nation, later moving into senior leadership roles including Regional Sales Manager, Director of Sales, and Regional Vice President.
Phil has founded, grown, sold, exited, and closed multiple businesses — including a CD/DVD manufacturing company he exited shortly after reading a newspaper headline announcing “The Death of the DVD.” He later founded Nationwide Barcode, helping establish it as a leading third-party UPC barcode provider.
Today, Phil and his wife Catherine own and operate Media Media Inc., supporting small and mid-sized businesses through blended traditional and digital marketing, systems thinking, and practical strategy.
Phil is also the author of:
• The Small Business Growth Playbook
• The Indie Musician’s Business Companion
• QR Codes Demystified
• 1000 Resumes, One Job
His work focuses on helping owners build businesses that are clear, durable, and designed to work without constant heroics.
Complexity is inevitable.
Confusion is optional.
Sometimes the most powerful business tool isn’t another system…
It’s a sentence.