In-House Training Courses

Course Overview

Business Acumen is a skill required at all levels within a company – it’s not just for leadership or management, but it is a critical part of their skills. So, if you have aspirations towards a leadership role, or if you want to become a more effective leader and position yourself for advancement, then Business Acumen is critical to your goals.

In this course, you will learn what Business Acumen is and how to attain it. By the end of this course you will have a greater understanding of your business and how it works. In order to achieve this, you must learn how to some powerful tools, adjust your attitude, and be ready to work hard. The key result of this process is to develop a thorough understanding of what it takes to be considered to have acute business acumen. By the end of this training you will be able to identify and understand all areas of a business and how it works, flows and generated income

Key Concept

Business Acumen can be said to be the opposite side of the coin of “Street Smart.” The key principle driving Business Acumen is knowledge and understanding (not one without the other). It’s a skill that gives the user an edge in business situations because of a developed keenness and quickness in their understanding which contributes to achieving a positive outcome.

Business Acumen has also emerged as a tool for improving financial performance and leadership development. There are a variety of strategies around improving Business Acumen, but we will be focusing on business and financial literacy to develop a more productive understanding of your business.

Key Terminology

Acumen:

Acumen is the ability to make good judgments and quick decision within a particular domain (mechanical, technological, business, finance, etc.).

Business Acumen:

Business Acumen, also known as business savvy or an acute business sense, is in essence a complete understanding of how a company works, how a company makes money, and how the company’s customers make money. Further, after a general understanding how business operate in general, business acumen develops when a person gains a greater understanding of the company they are currently working with.

Financial Acumen:

Financial Acumen is possessing a solid level of understanding as to what drives the company’s profits and expenses and how key financial metrics are used. To possess financial acumen, you generally have a good understanding of the company’s financial goals and a basic ability to understand financial statements, budgets and forecasts.

Technological Acumen:

Technological or Technical Acumen is possessing a solid understanding of the technologies involved in the operation of the company. Technological Acumen is critical in the success of Tech companies, but is also very important to most businesses in existence. Since this is the Technological/Information age, Technological Acumen is required to experience success within various levels of leadership.

Decision Making:

Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying risks/issues, gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions based on sound, reasonable arguments. Formal decision-making models are generally called rational decision-making models which consider inputs, analysis and evaluation of outcomes in order to make a decision as to which solution to implement.

Learning Objective

1. Be able to define what Acumen means to your company.
2. Identify the key areas within your business that contribute to its success.
3. Understand key business terminology, financial terminology, and technical terminology.
4. Understand the importance of acumen in key and leadership roles.
5. Understand the benefits of developing a keen business acumen.
6. Understand the how your business meets the needs of its customers.
7. Learn how to improve your overall business acument.
8. Understand how know the “Big Picture” can help your company be successful.

Course Outline

1. Introduction to Acumen
   1. What does acumen mean?
   2. How does it relate to business?

• Is it something that can be learned?

2. Introduction to Business
   1. What is a business and its primary purpose for existing?
   2. What is a business structure and why should I care?

• What is a company vision and why should I understand it?

1. What are company goals and why should I care about them?
2. What are the company values and how do they impact me?
3. What is a company strategy and why should I understand it?

• What are financial metrics and statements?

3. Introduction to Business Acumen
   1. What is Business Acumen?
   2. How do my actions impact the business?

• How will having Business Acumen help with my job?

1. What is “Executive Level Thinking” and why should I care?

4. Building Business Acumen
   1. Understanding the Key Principles of Business Acumen.
   2. Understanding how Financial Acumen impacts Business Acumen.

• What is Leadership Acumen and how does it impact the business.

1. What is Technological Acumen and how does it impact the business.

5. Going Beyond
   1. What is a “Big Picture” and why do I need to understand it.
   2. How does having a “Big Picture” of the company improve my performance and usefulness to the company?

• How can I improve my business acumen for my specific company?

1. If I don’t have access to the businesses financial information, does that prevent me from truly developing my business acumen?

6. Concept Evaluations
   1. Quizzes.
   2. Competency Reviews and Evaluation.