Although business and higher education may use the same language, it does not always have the same meaning. In this article, author Paul Gaston writes that there is nothing to be gained, and in fact much to be lost, if educational leaders do not know how to tell others who they are. Academic leaders tend to frame issues in a purely academic context and this can produce substantial misunderstandings. Such a disconnect has real consequences. Higher education's inability to tell its story in a straightforward manner encourages critics to fire shots with little fear of an answering volley. Fortunately, there are some encouraging indicators of an emerging resolve and some accomplishments in this regard that should be acknowledged, however, the scope of the problem remains considerable, and the window for addressing it is unlikely to remain open for long. If the academy continues to stand by its affection for idiosyncratic language, it will remain at a disadvantage from those who are uninformed, and would undermine higher education.