All Along It's Been About Acumen

Wrong!
Wrong!
Wrong!

The accent belongs on the second syllable. It's:

uh-KYOO-men

Am I a fumin' human? No, not really. But I wouldn't be opposed if people'd return to acumen's older, more traditional pronunciation. I might even campaign for it.

Why?

To help keep business acumen from getting jumbled together, I s'pose, with business sense and business savvy -- both of which get fuzzier and fuzzier the closer you look at 'em. Look closely at the former, however, and the focus...

Sharpens.

Business acumen has a specific and substantive definition. It's the capability to bring about positive business outcomes. Or sharper still, "the behavioral propensity to create capital". (E. Ted Prince) A person who has it understands the financial, accounting, marketing and operational functions of an organization AND is able to make good judgments and quick decisions.

Ultimately, it's a set of behaviors. A way. An approach (How many times have I used that word in past postings?) that can be taught and learned. Because it's specific.

Sharp.

Acumen in Latin means a point, which implies sharpness. A person with acumen is sharp or keen in some area. Business acumen is keenness or wisdom in the area of management*. The 'ac' part of the word is also found in the related word, "acute"; one way to remember what it means is to think "acute + mind = acumen".

uh-KYOOT

This seems like a good leaving off place. If you'd like to learn more -- right now -- about acumen and acumen training, look what they're doing at: Perth Leadership. Acumen Learning. Paradigm Learning. Root Learning. Advantage Performance Group. Prisim Business War Games.

ok-KYOO-py Main Street

*It's not just managers who have, or need to have, good business acumen within companies.

P.S. In light of all of the above, this vid strikes me as amusing: