Be Smart (part 2)

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 08:38am by Evan Prieskop in Start-Ups

The prime copula of the English language, “To Be”, can be utilized in many different ways, often confusing or indistinct from one another. The following is an excerpt from wikipedia’s article on the subject:

In the English language, the verb ‘to be‘ has several distinct functions:

Identity, of the form “noun copula noun” [The cat is an animal]
Predication, of the form “noun copula adjective” [The cat is furry]
Auxiliary, of the form “noun copula verb” [The cat is sleeping]; [The cat is bitten by the dog]
Existence, of the form “copula noun” [There is a cat]
Location, of the form “noun copula place” [The cat is on the mat]

Why do I bring this up now? Because, as I began writing this article, I discovered that the very phrase “Be Smart” could be easily misinterpreted. I did not mean to use the copula in the predicate sense. You do not have to be “smart” as an adjective. As I discussed a few weeks ago when writing about virtues, native intelligence is not indispensable. Instead, I had always intended “Be Smart” in the auxiliary sense.

The commandment is active and demanding. Be Smart. Pay attention. Do not let the often small and obscure facts of your business slip by unnoticed. Once you know something, do not ignore it, even for a moment.

If nothing else comes out of my many, many articles on the subject of starting and running a small business, if nothing else comes out the mountains of entrepreneur-targeted literature I have read and you will likely read, let this one point express: the vital difference between the employee and the business owner is that when the employee goes home, his job is done. The entrepreneur’s job is never done. The business always has flaws, inefficiencies, and unexploited advantages. Only by looking for them, thinking about them, and analyzing them can your business survive and thrive.

Ponder your business. Dwell on it. Every once in a while, shake your head, obliterate everything you know about your business, and then start over, analyzing it afresh as if you have never seen it before.

Smart is a verb.

Go to Part 3 >>

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