- to boil the ocean - v., to try to solve too many problems at once, thereby making success less likely; to waste good effort.
Boiling a pot of water is easy, but even Al Gore would agree that you can’t boil the ocean. Failure is guaranteed, and all effort expended in an attempt to do so would be wasted. You’d have no impact whatsoever.
This piece of corporate jargon is similar to the last one. Here’s the basic difference: While the jargon “to drink from the fire hose” refers to an attempt to absorb too much information, “to boil the ocean” refers to an attempt to accomplish too large a task.
When used in its natural environment (a corporate meeting), sometimes this piece of corporate jargon is misused merely as a means of attempting to deflect responsibility for a difficult task. As in this completely fictional usage example:
EMPLOYEE A: “Our new car, the Pinto, may have a teeny tiny flaw. It allegedly explodes in a rear impact. Any ideas to address this?”
EMPLOYEE B: “Well, we could move the gas tank. Or give the car a rear bumper.”
EMPLOYEE A: “Yes, that might solve the problem, er — the alleged problem, but it would require some redesign work. Let’s not boil the ocean here.”
EMPLOYEE B: “Boil the ocean? I thought that’s why we were meeting, to redesign the car so that it doesn’t explode when hit from behind.”
EMPLOYEE A: “Allegedly explode when hit from behind.”
EMPLOYEE B: “Yes, of course, allegedly.”
EMPLOYEE A: “You’re not thinking outside the box. How about a ‘buy a Pinto, get a free asbestos suit’ promotion?”