Hang Out One's Shingle - Corporate Lingo - 2

It’s interesting how all of a sudden a phrase comes from nowhere and becomes almost as popular as party poker. The phrases usually originate from the top and then percolate through the ranks. Within days, even the Tier 7 Desi/Chinese make some guesses as to what the phrases might mean and start using them with an awe-inspiring confidence.

(Aside: Reacting to the post “Stake in the Ground” – someone said, “Dooode, did you check before posting, I think it is “steak in the ground”. Perhaps, to him, putting his steak on the ground symbolizes that he is finished with his lunch and now talking serious business!)

Definition (Well, I did some research this time!)

[Shingle: A wooden board

Hang out one’s Shingle: Open an office, especially a professional practice, as in Bill's renting that office and hanging out his shingle next month. This American colloquialism dates from the first half of the 1800s, when at first lawyers, and later also doctors and business concerns, used shingles for signboards.] Source: Dictionary.com

In our context, I guess, it would mean creating an independent business identity for a team / defining what a team does through some small phrases etc.

Examples:

(I was amongst those who used this phrase with alarming frequency without really understanding it.):

Some Gems:

“We are chasing an ambitious shingle through this project”

“We will hang out a high shingle and then strive to achieve it. Even if we achieve half the shingle, it would be a job well done”