HOLISTIC: “adjective, chiefly Philosophy: characterized by the comprehension of the parts of something intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.
“Medicine: characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease.” — New Oxford American Dictionary
If you don’t know what a word means, you have no business using it. By my logic, there are thousands — nay, millions of people who should not be using the word holistic. Ever.
Holistic does not mean “whole,” as in “Let’s look at the holistic flowchart.” You also cannot refer to “the holistic process” unless your process (whichever one that is) is indeed holistic. And considering how many “green” companies don’t even recycle, I’m betting good money your process is far from holistic.
I don’t know enough about holistic business practices to lord it over you. Go read about Six Sigma or Ed Deming. And quit it with holistic, simplistic and minimalist. They are not the same as “whole,” “simple” and “minimal.”
— Otto E. Mezzo