To establish a common understanding or baseline of information among all participants before proceeding with a discussion or project.
This term originates from engineering and surveying, where 'level set' refers to establishing a horizontal reference plane for measurements. It migrated to business contexts in the 1980s-90s, particularly in technology companies, where ensuring everyone had the same foundational knowledge became crucial for project success.
This phrase represents the beautiful migration of precise technical language into everyday business communication. It transforms the surveyor's need for a physical reference point into the meeting facilitator's need for a knowledge reference point - both ensuring everyone is working from the same foundation.
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