Today's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) - world of business presents demanding obstacles organizations and leaders must overcome to achieve organizational priorities. Business Acumen, an imperative competency, has been identified by leaders and talent development professionals as a key driver for addressing our VUCA world challenges. Historically, business acumen competencies were reserved for the CEO and in some cases, the C-Suite. However, recent years have proven that organizations that develop business acumen throughout the lower and mid-levels of the organization ensure an important, competitive advantage.
TurnKey Coaching & Development Solutions’ customized Business Acumen & Strategic Thinking for Managers programs combine learning with real work projects to produce strategic solutions while developing your team’s business and commercial acumen. The training focuses upon developing strategic thinking and planning competency, strategic agility, financial and business acumen and more through a customized, business simulation competition experience.
Alternatively, our data-driven strategic alignment program builds business acumen while fostering alignment and commitment to a common vision. We also have a unique strategic alignment (similar to strategic planning) workshop that uses research-backed tools to drive out leadership’s priorities and the path forward, while cultivating a unified vision and business acumen. For more on our Strategic Growth Consulting and X-Ray program, please visit here.
As the cohort works collaboratively, through real business problems, the program improves your managers and/or HiPos’ leadership, collaboration, and teamwork skills. We believe it’s better than business simulation competition for your team, as all of the projects are selected to specifically solve company identified challenges.
An effective leadership development program includes competency development opportunities in three areas - Leading Self, Leading Others, and Leading in Business.
Our business strategy simulation and business acumen program can be optioned alone, or as part of a more comprehensive approach to leadership development. When optioned as part of a builds upon foundational competency development including interpersonal effectiveness and managing and motivating a team, for example. Our comprehensive leadership development program builds over time through phase 1 (leading self), phase 2 (leading others) and finally, phase 3 (leading in business).
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.
The learning objectives for the program include:
The program delivers a business simulation experience with real-work projects for a holistic and immersive, active-learning program. Participant learning objectives include:
According to Martin Luendock, Co-founder of Cleverism.com, a site dedicated to helping job-seekers find their dream job, people with strong business acumen skills are able to produce business frameworks to help identify and analyze important factors that will influence the successful execution of a strategy. The substance of business acumen is the ability to determine the strength of an organization's strategies and the viability of a business construct.
Furthermore, according to the business magazine, Financial Times, "business acumen is keenness and speed in understanding and deciding on a business situation." But, how does one develop their ability to have "keenness and speed" in understanding business situations?
What's interesting is the Financial Times survey also found that the five most important skills employers want from MBA students, are not core MBA subjects. For example, employers want employees who are not only good at time management but have the ability to prioritize (two very different skills.) They also want employees who can understand the impact of technology on their business and the ability to solve complex problems. These are thinking skills, which are difficult to learn in a non-business environment.
Our immersive, business strategy simulation and business simulation competition program leverages active-learning and real-work projects for an effective and results-oriented learning experience.
Our programs are infinitely flexible. Each component is custom-designed around your organizational goals and budget. Programs are available in a variety of formats, including:
We find that each company or non-profit organization will have very specific goals, budgets, and logistical requirements. Thus, we will not insist on a routine approach. However, we can share that our most effective business-simulation and acumen corporate development programs include:
Here's a sample time-line of events for our best-practice approach to the training:
What sets effective leaders and high-potential employees apart from others? Why are some employees more likely to make intelligent decisions than others? And, how do some supervisors skyrocket their careers, while others never move up? After technical competence, and effective influence and interpersonal skills, the answer is business acumen and strategic thinking competency.
Business and financial acumen, strategic and critical thinking, analytical thinking and complex problem solving, and the ability to make a compelling business case are skills that can predictably forecast an organization's success. Unfortunately, most company's reserve business acumen expectations for their C-Suite. They fail to cultivate an environment whereby managers, at all levels, are inspired and encouraged to think critically about how their actions impact the bottom-line, let alone ponder deeply how they might improve a process, or save the company money with a simple change or innovative idea.
Leaders who are skilled and possess business acumen demonstrate an acute sense of how business works and an even deeper understanding of how their business (company/organization) works. They are knowledgeable and informed about current policies and pending regulatory changes. They stay abreast of industry trends and pay attention to economic, political, environmental and even social factors that may affect the business. Furthermore, they know the competition and study the innovators, always considering how they may contribute to their role and the company with a complimentary idea or innovation. They seek to be skilled and knowledgeable of how different strategies, tactics, and technology is impacting the marketplace.
Do your leaders and high-potential employees understand the company's business strategies? Do they really understand the financial, customer, marketplace, competition, and employee components? How often do your managers engage in a collaborative, strategically focused conversation that they self-initiate? Have you offered a business acumen workshop or strategy for managers training program that engages them in real-word business simulations and/or business-case-building opportunities?
A well-designed "leading in business" program will enable leaders to make quality business decisions with confidence, and ensure your succession plan includes a strong bench of ready-now "business-minded" leaders.
Experienced, self-aware CEOs and Executive Directors, know that if all decisions must come from them, the business is doomed, as year-over-year growth cannot be obtained when there's a singular source of directives. When a team of executives guard the strategic plan and hold the keys to all strategic-thinking in the organization, they cripple the company's ability to grow, adapt, and innovate. There's more to a strategic plan than documentation and data visualization. A strong strategic plan is intentionally cascaded throughout the organization, inviting every employee to consider how they can strategically contribute to the goals. When strategic and critical thinking skills are actively developed, employees begin to think in terms of how their actions either make the company money or save the company money; how their decisions either ensure a safe place to work or increase the likelihood of an injury; how their behaviors either encourage a great place to share ideas or a terrible place to work.
Learning and development managers who build strong business acumen and strategic thinking for managers course or training program, enable leaders to grow and drive business results through sound, quality decision making.
We know that a one size fits all approach to training employees doesn't work. This is particularly true for developing Business Acumen. We will be the first to advocate for coaching and training, as the benefits are well-documented and undisputed. However, for strategic thinking, financial acumen, and some of the more advanced thinking and analytical skills, an effective program may also include:
For our business acumen development program we customize our proven curriculum for relevance and alignment with your business, industry and strategic priorities. Each program is designed to actively engage participants in rich learning experiences and adult-learning best practices.
NOTE: We do not have public training events. While our programs are available for groups only, we do have individual, one-on-one coaching programs for individuals seeking business acumen coaching. Please inquire.
Please also see more information on our customized leadership development options:

Have questions? We have answers. Please also read our Strategic Thinking & Business Acumen Training Frequently Asked Questions here, for the details on our Business Acumen Training and Capstone Project development programs.
Learning how to lead a business and develop the business acumen skills to make quality, informed, strategic decisions matters, at all levels of a management team. Insufficient business acumen competency significantly limits an organization's ability to realize and achieve its goals. High performing companies address the business-savvy skill gap by implementing business acumen, finance for non-financial managers, and strategic thinking training programs to build the required competencies.
Make sure to also check out TurnKey's other services in the city: executive coaching programs, corporate leadership development, leadership team development, programs for emerging leaders and high potentials, Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team programs, business retreats, and strategic planning consultations.
Disclaimer:
* Shark-Tank-Like: we are not associated in any way with the television show. We think it’s an awesome show and use the verbiage “shark-tank-like” because it accurately describes how our final capstone, business simulation competition, and business strategy simulation presentations are experienced by our clients. SHARK TANK is a trademark of Sony Pictures Television Inc. and is not associated in any way with this company or program.