Have you ever wondered how some people know what to say and do in certain situations? Perhaps a natural talent, good fortune, or hard work has resulted in a prevalent and knowledgeable attitude. Nevertheless, every business requires leaders at all levels who can pull the various threads together and make decisions in the best interests of the entire organization. These individuals are frequently referred to as having strong business acumen.
Now, what exactly is business acumen? Business acumen refers to using your experience, facts, and knowledge to make the best decision possible. Business acumen may be primarily reserved for those in higher-level positions. Still, it is something that anyone can work on and improve. This knowledge can assist anyone in making better decisions, improving performance, and helping a company in meeting its objectives.
So if you’re struggling to develop business acumen among your employees, consider the following ways to be your guide:
1. Encourage employees to advance their education.
A business owner can only do so much to teach an employee. Still, the best way to build business acumen is to provide your teams with the resources they need to educate themselves. Here are some possibilities:
- Gather books or online resources on various business skills and subjects for employees to read during breaks.
- Collaborate with local academic institutions to provide employees with ongoing business education.
- Provide online training courses aimed at improving business acumen.
Furthermore, plenty of degree programs can help individuals learn various skills and build a network to cultivate new ideas and boost business performance. An online MBA in management can serve as a viable degree that can assist individuals in deepening their knowledge in human resources, finance, accounting, and more. This simple step could make a significant difference in how well one of your employees performs tomorrow.
2. Educate your employees on business goals
It is easier to make decisions and complete day-to-day tasks if you understand your personal goals and know what is expected. That is why you should share strategic business goals with employees regularly and how each employee’s role adds value to these goals. Following this discussion, all projects assigned to employees must be aligned with a strategic objective. Understanding how their insights contribute to business success can be a powerful motivator.
3. Know your market
Business acumen entails a thorough knowledge of the market and other external factors and understanding the internal politics of what drives performance. It is critical to understand one’s customers and provide value to them. Business-savvy executives must also develop an impartial and clear understanding of their competitors’ offerings and how they differ from their own. However, in today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world, competitor and customer insights may not be sufficient. Leaders must also be able to analyze broader political, economic, and social disruptions and trends and act decisively to ensure the success of their business.
4. Celebrate and encourage new ideas
No, we don’t mean a party with cake when we say “celebration.” Every year, set aside a few days for employees to feel encouraged to present ideas to enhance their jobs and the overall business. Employees may want to make a difference but believe they lack the opportunity. Ideas aligned with strategic initiatives should be deemed and, if possible, implemented to show employees that their input is valued.
5. Ensure your employees know the customer’s lifecycle
How do customers first become aware of your company?
How will your company retain customers in the long run?
How does your customer feel throughout their interaction with your company?
This lesson could be turned into a game in which employee groups represent various business activities. Each team explains at what stage of the customer lifecycle they interact with customers and how they impact the entire relationship for each customer scenario. Because employees understand the whole procedure, they can provide better customer service. If one employee cannot assist a customer, they know who can within your organization. Furthermore, employees will converse more clearly and comprehensively with customers about what they can expect when dealing with your company.
6. Listen to your business’s quarterly call.
To make sound business decisions, you must stay current on what is going on in your industry. Listening in on your company’s quarterly earnings calls is an excellent way to do this. If you’re not interested in finance, it may be challenging to comprehend the finer points. However, it will still give you a good understanding of what’s going on in the company. As you learn and become accustomed to deciphering these calls, they can provide you with a very accurate picture of what’s going on in the business. Suppose you have a mentor (which you should have). In that case, they can assist you by explaining key terms and converting information into coherent ideas.
Conclusion
Building insight is crucial to every growing and thriving business. It plays a tremendous role in convincing customers and other stakeholders what your business model is about and why it should always be on top of the list. The key to acquiring strong business acumen is to learn and experience. You need people skills to ensure you don’t implement techniques purely on a financial basis, for instance, but also consider the impact employees will have on future operations. It is also crucial to ensure that you use the right strategies, following the ways listed above. Soon, you can embrace and empower the business world with a curious mind.
Author Bio: Azeem Khokhar is a passionate and creative blogger who loves to write on different topics. His writings are focused on prevailing topics and her long-term vision is to empower youth in making their decisions.
