Why We’re Called en dash
When people first hear the name of our company, they often ask: “What the hell is an en dash?:”
Most people know a period ends a sentence, a comma gives you a pause, and an ellipsis adds a little drama… But what about the en dash (–)? It’s a subtle mark, often overlooked, yet it carries a powerful meaning. We chose it as our name because it perfectly represents how we see work, progress, and transformation.
The En Dash Itself
Unlike a hyphen (-), which ties words tightly together, or an em dash (—), which adds emphasis or expansion, the en dash is all about connection. It shows a relationship, a span, a bridge:
- 2010–2020 (a range of years)
- The Boston–New York train (a journey between two places)
The beauty of the en dash lies in the space it represents: a middle ground, a transition. That is the space where growth happens. We’ve built our model around this philosophy: creating environments where dialogue is open, where teams experiment safely, and where leaders guide with vision and empathy.
It is in that space between that we can partner with individuals, teams and organizations to make work feel better. As this change takes root, the benefits extend beyond morale—teams deliver with greater focus, leaders make clearer decisions, and businesses see measurable improvements: faster time-to-market for new products, reduced operating costs through streamlined processes, and higher customer satisfaction scores.
Why It Resonates With Us
For us, the en dash isn’t just a clever name—it’s our philosophy. We sit in the middle, helping connect leaders, teams, and strategies. We hold the space where dialogue can happen. We help people take the step between where they are now and where they want to be.
Real and lasting change happens in the middle—the messy, human, in-between space where people are moving from one way of working toward another.
That’s where leaders gain alignment on strategic priorities, teams reduce wasted effort by working on the right things, and organizations see productivity rise without burning people out.
That’s what the en dash represents. We live in the space between and work to move the needle. Here are some examples.
Silos – Collaboration
By moving from silos into a more collaborative model teams are able to accelerate cross-functional delivery by months instead of quarters.
Confusion – Clarity
Creating an atmosphere that honestly and directly deals with confusion and miscommunication creates clarity and shared understanding so leaders invest confidently in the initiatives with the highest ROI.
Good Enough – Better
Challenging that which has always been “good enough” moves organization to strive for better from driving continuous improvement that compounds into long-term gains.
Critically, this process is not about erasing what came before. It’s about helping professionals, teams or companies bridge the gap and navigate the way forward, moving them to a place where work feels better and therefore is better.
The Power of the Dash
This tiny piece of punctuation holds the weight of what we constantly try to do: create connections, bridge gaps, and make the space between two points meaningful. And just like the en dash itself, it’s subtle. You don’t always notice it at first, but once you understand what it’s doing, you can’t imagine the sentence (or the business) working without it.
So that’s why we’re called en dash. Not because of grammar, but because the work we do is about the dash itself: the connection, the journey, the movement from here to there. And along the way, companies don’t just feel better—they become stronger, more adaptive, and better positioned to grow in competitive markets. Interested in getting some help in your work, to be more collaborative, efficient, effective and value-driven, while always ensuring people are at the core of any change? Check out some resources we've created and use in our work, that can help you in your journey in our growing Toolkit (opens in a new tab).