A New Favorite Word - Sprezzatura

I am sesquipedalian. So when a new word that I had not ever heard comes my way, I am very excited. This one comes courtesy an exchange between Ron Baker and Jim Caruso, Partner in charge of Financial Management Outsourcing for Fesnak and Associates LLP.

Jim send the following email to Ron a few days ago and Ron passed in along to me.

Saw this great quote on Twitter from Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan.

“Only in recent history has "working hard" signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent, finesse and, mostly, sprezzatura.”

sprezzatura (plural sprezzaturas) From the Italian, Sprezzatura meaning nonchalance; (art) The art of doing a difficult task so gracefully, that it looks effortless

[It] gives new perspective to the concept of the billable hour as the basis for revenue generation, doesn’t it.

I plan on using this one quite often. It is a characteristic that to which all professionals should aspire. Of course, if you bill by the hour, it is not possible.

For further reading check the wikipedia entry.