Page 4 - NBIZ October 2023

Words

Do Matter

By Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S.

he words we use in everyday life do matter. We often believe one
word is as good as another, but that is not necessarily accurate. In
business, there are three words we often hear guru, expert, and
specialist. Each of these words is truly unique and has different
T implications.
How often have we heard the word “guru” in business or even cultur-
ally? The word origin of guru is not Latin nor Greek, but rather Sanskrit
meaning “venerable, worth of honor.” The Hindi and Punjabi define a guru
as priest or teacher.
Later in 1940, H.G. Wells linked the word guru to mentor. Then, in
1966, in reference to Marshal McLuhan, the word guru was recorded to
mean an expert in something.
Individuals like Peter Drucker, Zig Ziglar, Daniel Pink, and Daniel
Goldman are considered “gurus “because they are experts in something.
So, what is an expert? By returning to the word origin of expert, one
learns the word comes from the Latin root, “experitus,” meaning tried,
proved, known by experience. In the late 14 century, the word was from the
th
Old French meaning “espert,” someone who was experienced, practice, and
skilled. Today the word expert means an individual who has broad under-
standing of subject matter and is recognized as an authority in their field.
In business, the words expert and specialist are often interchanged, and
yet, there is a distinct difference between the two. For instance, the source

4 NBIZ ■ October 2023