this use of the word "so" was moaned about a few years ago. it's no different from (not than) the general decline of the standard of business english. indeed, people like Don Watson believe that the decline in standards is systemic.
http://vimeo.com/9369655 and
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2009/12/04/2762051...
(both links reference the same video.)