I haven't heard "reaching out" all that often, but the one that makes me cringe is "moving/going/looking forward." I once heard my boss use it 3 times in one sentence (it was something like "going forward, we'll ... and going forward, ... to set expectations going forward.") The surreal experience was further enhanced by the fact that none of the 6 others in the same meeting even seemed to notice or find it unusual.
Aside from overuse in that example you gave, what's the issue you have with "going forward"?
I use language along these lines, often after talking about an issue, as a way of steering the conversation onto solutions. In my experience, it can be a useful phrase.
