Virtù

Etymology

Italian "virtù," from Latin "virtus" (manliness, valor, from "vir," man), was reworked by Machiavelli into a political quality: the prowess to grasp opportunity and bend fortune, deliberately detached from Christian moral virtue. English keeps the Italian spelling to flag the special sense.

noun · /veer-TOO/
The boldness, skill, and force of will by which a leader shapes events and masters chance.
What it names
Political effectiveness stripped of morality — the prowess to seize the moment and impose order.
Example
The founder’s virtù — decisive, ruthless, perfectly timed — built the company, though no one called him a good man.
Related idea
The amoral prowess at the heart of the Machiavellian prince, pitted against fortuna, luck; it is virtue emptied of morality and refilled with effectiveness.