Jan 31, 2006 17:27
18 yrs ago
9 viewers *
French term

Esprit de conquête

French to English Bus/Financial Management internal 'slogan'
Company newsletter (energy sector) – a kind of slogan to galvanise the troops for the coming 5 years :

“Esprit de conquête, culture de l'excellence, religion du résultat”

The “conquête” is question is the winning of new (corporate) customers, by improved identification of potential targets, etc .
I’m aware of the resonance of the “A de B” structure repeated 3 times, and would ideally like to replicate it.

Hence so far I’ve stuck with “culture of excellence” for the 2nd element, but it’s not set in stone.

Likewise, the “religion du résultat” element involves improving profitability by focusing on profitable contracts, and my inclination here is “driven by/focus on profit” to keep the word pattern.

However, for “Esprit de conquête” I’m stuck with plain old “winning customers” for the moment.
I’m toying with “mindset” for “Esprit” but can’t think of a decent, snappy, phrase. I’ve also wondered whether something with “target” or “targeting” might do the trick for “conquête“. I’ve seen kudoz for “conquête” but terms like “winover” are too marketing-speak for this document (which is a general newsletter), and I’m not sure that “promotion” is appropriate here for this company.

I would really like to avoid the obvious “spirit of conquest”, which sounds a bit imperialistic to me :-)

Anybody got any good ideas?

Discussion

Charlie Bavington (asker) Jan 31, 2006:
Thanks And of course, many thanks to all who suggested answers, since without exception they all made me stop to think about what I was really looking for.

Proposed translations

+4
25 mins
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te
Selected

spirit of conquest, culture of excellence, focus on results

I know you said you wanted to avoid it, but those are the words the client wanted...and I personally see nothing wrong with it.

As for a focus on results, that is common management speak.

Peer comment(s):

agree RHELLER : yes, Sylvia, you are right
26 mins
thank you Rita
agree Tamara Salvio : Yes, no need to avoid it - "conquest" is a common corporate metaphor - corporations are imperialistic after all ;-) I might go with "driven by results" to reflect "religion"
36 mins
good point, Tamara, thank you
agree Miranda Joubioux (X)
47 mins
thank you miranda
agree LBMas : Traduction fidèle, but I agree w/ Charlie about the sense of "conquest." I know corporations exist w/ this mindset. I know an equal number whose employees would cringe if they heard the word (unless modified/put in context). Your audience, Charlie?
5 hrs
thank you for the comment, LBMas
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Well, you may have ignored some of what I said, but you did at least stick with the 3-word requirement :-) Maybe I should've made a bigger deal of it in the question, 'cos I was very keen to retain it. And ultimately, I went with "desire to conquer", which ain't that far removed, if at all, from what I said I wanted to avoid, so looks like you were right to do so :-) "
3 mins
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

customer appeal/ winning way with customers

couple of possibles perhaps ......
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+3
5 mins

"winning customers" "committed to excellence" "focused on results"

Don't know if this meets what you're after

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Note added at 2006-01-31 17:35:42 (GMT)
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Or \"seeking out new business\" for the first one. I\'m assuming that there is scope for interpreting résultats as results as well as profit.
Peer comment(s):

agree RHELLER : nice!
12 mins
Thanks
agree Suzanne Kirk (X) : This could motivate anybody!
2 hrs
Thanks - probably to commit murder if they don't like corporate speak!
agree LBMas : Simple, to the point, yet motivational.
5 hrs
Thanks
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10 mins
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

will to win

How about this? Just a suggestion , but as it has to do with winning customers it might fit - also three words
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7 mins
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

License(d) to Win

just another option

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Note added at 12 mins (2006-01-31 17:39:30 GMT)
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We Are the Champions

No Time for Loosers
_______

based on Beastie Boys and Queen ;-)
Note from asker:
And "Fat Bottom Line" for the last one?? :-)
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14 mins
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

Empowered by our customers, excellence, results!

That is what I would use for an energy company newsletter. hth. : )
Note from asker:
Brilliant thinking! You were not to know, but each of the 3 'bits' also appears as a section heading in its own right, and I just thought that "Empowered by..." x3 might be a bit much. Maybe if I were a braver translator, I would have gone for it...
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+1
26 mins
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

passion for new conquests/ conquering new territory

passion for new conquests/living excellence/results-focused

conquering new territory/ excellence in priority/results-oriented

I understood your idea about A de B but IMO that is not modern-sounding - in English, anyway.

Peer comment(s):

agree LBMas : I like "conquering new territory." You keep "conquer" but it loses some of its imperialism, because it focuses on "territory." Salespeople may not want to conquer new customers, but territory? Sure.
4 hrs
thanks, LBM!
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1 hr

conquering spirit

since nobody seems to have said it and it seems obvious
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+1
5 hrs
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

warrior spirit

A literal translation is "spirit of conquest". However, the context seems to seek a more common term, with an inspiring military connotation. "Killer instinct" might be too military! But, The US and British military also use, internally, the notion of the "warrior" to describe the killer reflex it wants in its combat-arms soldiers.
Peer comment(s):

agree LBMas : To "galvanize" employees, appealing to their warrior spirit could be effective. Again, what do you know about the audience? (The more I chew on this the more I like it.)
41 mins
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5 hrs
French term (edited): Esprit de conqu�te

Winning new markets, celebrating excellence, driven by the bottom line (OR delivering results).

Given everyone's comments and especially Charlie's take. It seems w/ slogans, you may have more wiggle-room depending upon your audience. You want to capture the intent, the essence, and the goal. (Regardless of your direction, I think you have great input and choices here.)

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Note added at 5 hrs (2006-01-31 23:16:25 GMT)
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As I was reading and thinking, I belatedly saw Charlie's idea about "résultat" being linked to profit. Nobody had yet addressed that specifically, hence the "bottom line" suggestion. But, if you deliver new customers or conquer new territory...won't you be more profitable?
Note from asker:
Not necessarily. If it costs more to win those new markets/customers than the revenue they generate, they will be loss-making and decidedly unprofitable...which is probably not the desired "result". In another context, your "bottom line" would have been good, but sadly broke my own 3-word-for-each-bit rule :-)
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