Business Acumen Training & Strategy for Managers in Des Moines, IA

How does it work?

Our Leading in Business Training focuses on Business Acumen Skills through experiential learning opportunities (better than business simulation training), customized cohort work projects, the collaboration between peers and mentors, business case development and capstone project presentations (a la Shark Tank presentations).

Note: Our programs are facilitated on or off-site for organizations. We do not offer public seminars at this time. While we have speakers and trainers that are available to facilitate and speak at public engagements, we do not offer public seminars.

Objectives

The learning objectives for the program include:

Organizational

• Strategic human resource development
• Align development with the Mission, Vision, and Values
• Increased competency
• Business competency development designed to impact the bottom-line
• Team projects with tangible strategic impact on the business
• Direct observational opportunities between executives, board members, and high-potential employees in support of future leader identification and succession planning
• Development aligned with strategic priorities

At the Cohort Level

• Encourage participants to routinize the sharing of best management practices
• Expose leaders to cross-functional problem solving with minimal risk to the business
• Build alliances across functions that can develop into concrete linkages for future collaboration
• Healthy competition and collaboration, a la “Shark Tank” type challenge and capstone projects

At the Individual Level

The program delivers a business simulation experience with real-work projects for a holistic and immersive, active-learning program. Participant learning objectives include:

• Develop strategic and critical thinking skills
• Develop quality decision-making skills
• Learn how to make a business case
• Gain an understanding of all areas of a business’ operations
• Ensure foundational confidence in financial analysis competency
• Comprehend the importance of strategic agility
• Build financial acumen and budgeting skills
• Develop the ability to ask questions that generate new thinking and solutions
• Set effective team goals
• Practice negotiation and influence skills
• Develop insight into the interconnectedness of business functions and operations
• Collaborate with their team to establish plans
• Presentation skills development
• Evaluate and Improve work processes
• Align organizational systems
• Engage in systems thinking and a continuous improvement focus
• Develop risk management skills
• Understand the builder mindset vs. the protector mindset

What is business acumen? Simply put, business acumen is the ability to keenly understand the company's business strategy, the financial metrics, the external and internal factors influencing success and the ability to make quality decisions that align with the organization's best interest. Acute critical thinking and business insight, means leaders are equipped to discern and implement the necessary changes to achieve the goals of any business initiative. What we have learned is that an employee with a high level of business acumen can see the "big picture;" And, how the various factors from processes and technology to employee decisions and regulations are inseparably intertwined with a company's ability to accomplish its goals. Having a deep sense of business acumen allows employees to extract relevant and important data and to decide the appropriate course of action. This will naturally lead to improved results, more meaningful engagement within the organization and a stronger impulse to be a part of the company's success.

We have also learned that an employees' lack of business knowledge and business education show a direct correlation to organizational deficiencies. Companies fail when employees struggle to fully understand the company's vision and strategic priorities and how to apply critical thinking skills to their roles and responsibilities. This failure to think critically and creatively, or analyze the financial impact of a decision, results in poor execution, and an inability to implement business strategies efficiently. Ultimately, the inefficient implementation of business strategies further increases company misalignment and disarray.

This pattern can be changed with the development of critical and strategic thinking training, business and financial acumen development, and by developing your leader's ability to conduct proper business case analysis, both in-depth and in-the-moment. Business acumen is an essential skill for effective leadership teams to possess. With the fast pace of the changing business environment, it is more critical now than ever, for employees to develop a higher level of business acumen. When a manager is empowered with business acumen training, the manager's confidence grows along with their ability to analyze, think creatively, and make sound business decisions. It is this more elusive skill set of critical thinking that enables an organization to be more nimble and adapt to changes quickly.

Business acumen is not an innate skill. Luckily, it is something that can be developed. And, while some people may grasp the concept easier than others, depending on their personal experience, others may just take more time to master the skill. There are many approaches to developing business acumen, including coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training, and the most effective method is experiential learning and business simulations. The latter two approaches, when thoughtfully designed, provide a customized learning experience that is also immediately applicable to the real-world needs of the company. Finally, business acumen training programs enable your managers to contribute to the company's strategic priorities, develop keen insights into how the company can avoid costly mistakes, and foster a culture more inclined to innovate than stagnate.