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Business Acumen
Through our Business Acumen workshop your participants will improve their judgment and decisiveness skills. Business Acumen is all about seeing the big picture and recognizing that all decisions no matter how small can have an effect on the bottom line. Your participants will increase their financial literacy and improve their business sense.
Business Acumen will give your participants an advantage everyone wishes they had. The workshop will help your participants recognize learning events, manage risk better, and increase their critical thinking. Business Acumen has the ability to influence your whole organization, and provide that additional edge that will lead to success.
Objective:
- Know how to see the big picture
- Develop a risk management strategy
- Know how to practice financial literacy
- Develop critical thinking
- Practice management acumen
- Find key financial levers
Introduction :
Getting Started
Many people believe you are born with business acumen, which is loosely defined as the ability to assess an external market and make effective decisions. Knowing what is necessary to navigate and create a successful business seems innate for certain people. For example, Steve Jobs showed great business acumen. Fortunately, it is possible for the rest of us to improve business acumen. The right training combined with experience will improve your business savvy.
Module 1 :
Seeing the Big Picture
Business acumen requires an understanding of finance, strategy, and decision making. Most managers and employees, however, are responsible for specific areas, and they have little understanding of the impact their decisions have on other areas. When too much focus is placed on one aspect of the business, it is difficult to make decisions for the good of the company. In order to make effective decisions, it is necessary for you to examine the big picture.
Module 2 :
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
Understanding when goals are reached is a necessary aspect of business acumen. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics that show when goals are met. Each company will have a different set of KPIs, depending on individual business needs. Creating and managing KPIs will improve the success of your business as well as your own business acumen.
Module 3 :
Risk Management Strategies
Risk management involves different strategies. The purpose is to identify and assess risks and prioritize them in order to monitor and reduce threats to the company. Implementing risk management requires looking at the big picture in the future and taking the proper steps for the good of the organization. Certain risks may be transformed to opportunities, and risk management is essential to business acumen.
Module 4 :
Recognizing Learning Events
Every day is an opportunity to learn something new. Individuals with business acumen are able to recognize learning events and take advantage of these opportunities. To be successful, you must always be learning. As you gather knowledge, you will find yourself learning from your mistakes and improving your decision making process. The ability to recognize learning events will benefit you as well as the organization.
Module 5 :
You Need to Know These Answers and More
Running a business is a complex enterprise. In order to look at the big picture in your business, you need to know the answers to some basic financial questions. It is not enough for your accountant to know this information. Business acumen requires you to be aware of these answers so that you will be able to guide your company to success.
Module 6 :
Financial Literacy (I)
Financial literacy is essential to business acumen. In order to see the big picture, you have to understand every aspect of the company’s finances. Fortunately, anyone can improve financial literacy with some basic instruction and practice. This module and the next will provide you with information to improve your understanding of financial literacy.
Module 7 :
Financial Literacy (II)
Financial literacy requires you to read and understand different reports such as the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. These internal reports along with external information that you gather, will help you lead a financially stable business. Although it is not glamorous, financial literacy is a necessary part of business acumen.
Module 8 :
Business Acumen in Management
Business acumen requires careful cultivation of resources, specifically one of the most important resources, employees. Managing people is a complex process, but developing your management skills will help you become an effective manager who achieves significant results. Pay careful attention to talent management, change management, asset management, and organizational management.
Module 9 :
Critical Thinking in Business
In business, you are constantly bombarded with information. You rely on this information to make important decisions. Business acumen requires that you do more than absorb information. You need to think critically to about information and make your decisions accordingly.
Module 10 :
Key Financial Levers
There are key financial levers that drive any business. These financial levers may be overlooked, but you do so to the detriment of the business. Identifying the levers is the first step to addressing them correctly. Once you understand these key levers, you will increase your business acumen.
Conclusion :
Wrapping Up
Although this workshop is coming to a close, we hope that your journey to understanding basic acumen strategies is just beginning. Please take a moment to review and update your action plan. This will be a key tool to guide your progress in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. We wish you the best of luck on the rest of your travels!