"Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work."
Carl Sandburg
I confess. I'm a language snob. It wasn't a conscious choice, though. I'm not a bad person. Really. Honestly. It just happened somehow along the way. And since neither of my parents even finished high school, I can't blame it on them. Some cruel twist of fate doomed me to bristle at minor violations of the countless rules of grammar and proper usage.
Consider bring and take. This is simple enough, isn't it? You "bring" to where you are. You "take" to where you are going. If I am at the office, I may logically speak about "bringing" my lunch to work. But if I am at home, it is just plain wrong to say that I am planning to "bring" that feast to my desk the next day. Didn't everyone learn that in the second grade? Or earlier? No, you say? Damn!
A couple of years ago I preached this particular sermon in the presence of a professor of linguistics. She politely, but firmly, told me that the language was alive, and had always been alive, and that I would have to (in her words) just get over it.
As you may have guessed by now, I have not completely succeeded in putting her advice into practice. I have, however, found a powerful corollary in the world of entrepreneurship that I can comfortably preach to you.
The universe might have been "just so" last year, or last month; but it is alive, and is different today. That may be inconvenient for you. Your plan for market domination may now be weakened, or even ruined, as a result. But you cannot simply object and indignantly demand that it not be so. You are required to adapt. You absolutely must "just get over it."
Whether it is startup of a fresh competitor, or a scientific breakthrough, or wild fluctuations in the price of crude oil, the message from the marketplace must be heeded. Stubborn persistence in the face of overwhelming evidence that change is required is one of the most common business mistakes. And it can easily be fatal.
Slang, Sandburg tells us, is the language of the everyday world. Bring. Take. What's the real difference, after all? Either way, I'm transporting my lunch to my place of work. Are we observing steady erosion of the subtleties and clarity of English expression? Many (snobs, like me) argue yes. Are we, however, still succeeding at the task of communicating the essence of the message? Even I have to concede that point. Ouch.
BUT... Are you resisting acknowledgment of change in the essential facts governing your marketplace?
My language problem is merely a foible (a minor defect or shortcoming in character or behavior). It bugs me, and sometimes I pass my annoyance on to unsuspecting and innocent bystanders. Similar resistance to changed or misunderstood business realities is a flaw (an imperfection or weakness and especially one that detracts from the whole or hinders effectiveness). Flaws can doom a business, and do serious damage to unsuspecting and innocent bystanders, such as employees, suppliers, clients, and (let's not forget) shareholders.
Comments