Business acumen is the ability to understand the business implications of opportunities and decisions, and to implement successful business strategies to improve organizational performance. It requires an ability to see the big picture by combining an awareness of business issues, processes and outcomes, and the impact they have on the community and organization’s strategic direction.
The main elements of business acumen are:
1. Possesses basic knowledge of business
- Understands how own job fits in relationship to results / outcomes / performance.
- Appropriately applies existing policies to address business needs.
- Improves one’s understanding of the business.
- Demonstrates a basic understanding of business fundamentals.
2. Incorporates business fundamentals
- Understands tactical business fundamentals and incorporates them into decision making and setting and measuring outcomes against critical performance indicators (e.g., financial, productivity, etc.).
- Builds the business case for services, programs and initiatives, demonstrating how they support broader business objectives.
3. Understands the internal and external environment
- Is aware of trends in the external environment that have an impact on the organization (e.g., new technologies).
- Actively researches current developments in the areas of business.
- Demonstrates how business unit services, solutions and initiatives help organization to respond to the impact of changing economic conditions.
- Brings in other areas of expertise that can help to position the organization for continued growth.
4. Applies broader business metrics
- Communicates the implications of business strategies on business unit programs and offerings.
- Reviews own strategic actions against the long-term strategic goals of the organization.
- Quantitatively measures the effectiveness (cost and value) of each product, service, and solution to determine their business viability (i.e., risk versus cost-benefit).
- Leverages cost-benefit analyses when designing and implementing new programs, services and other initiatives.
5. Demonstrates strategic agility
- Develops new programs or approaches to align the business strategy with the external environment; displays an innovative mindset.
- Understands the strategies of key stakeholders, and formulates proactive strategies to gain advantages.
- Identifies and acts on the critical issues among competing and compelling business priorities to ensure actions are aligned with the organization’s strategic goals.
6. Directs the organization
- Displays a strategic understanding of the economy, trends and broad business issues, including new developments in community services and the public sector, and uses that understanding to formulate strategies for the organization.
- Develops the strategy for partnerships and alliances that will best further the goals of the organization.
- Applies an extensive knowledge of all of the internal and external factors that influence and affect the long-term success of the organization.
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