It’s in Our DNA

This is one of those very dumb overused phrases disguised as a smart phrase. They’re quite popular in the corporate world.

Have you ever studied anything about genetics? DNA is hereditary material — it comes from nature, not nurture. So if you want to say a disease is in your DNA, go right ahead. (And we’re sorry to hear that.) But learned traits cannot be in your DNA. So please drop the nonsense about saying “kindness is in our DNA” or “positivity is in our DNA.”

And also, it’s weird to talk about shared DNA with people to whom one isn’t related. We don’t share DNA with strangers we met at work. And a company or business certainly doesn’t have DNA, because companies are not human.