Practice Your Business Acumen To Impact the
Big Picture
What can you DO in your current job or position to make a positive
impact on the big picture of your company?
Any time you impact the five drivers of business; cash, profits,
assets, growth, or people (customer & employees) you are
impacting the overall success of your company. The question
is, are you having the maximum, right impact? Cutting costs
too much can adversely affect product and service quality, thus
reducing customer satisfaction and leading to lower sales and
profits. Raising prices too high or using cash to launch product
lines without sufficient research and analysis concerning customer
tastes and preferences can again result in lower sales and profits.
Depending upon your role or job function, you will have different
opportunities to influence the big picture by exercising your
business acumen. As you create your own action list for these
individual Drivers, consider these important ideas…
- Talk with your boss or supervisor about the big picture
of your organization and how your work team or department,
and you personally, can have a more significant impact.
- Learn the key measures and “dashboard metrics” that your
boss and division or company senior management are focused
on at the present time. Discuss with your boss or supervisor
how to better achieve these targets so you know how your team,
and your job function, fits in.
- Draw up a brief written action list around any or all of
the 5 Drivers. Link your actions to results that “move the
needle” in areas important to your boss and senior management,
and that support the key measures they have identified. Identify
in writing how your actions and impact on any of the Drivers
can be measured. Give a copy to your boss or supervisor and
discuss.
7 Keys to Remember When Linking the 5 Drivers
- The big picture is understanding the overall perspective
of how your company makes money through combining the 5 Drivers.
It includes the context of the outside environment.
- All 5 Drivers are interdependent. Any impact on one affects
the others.
- People are the most important resource of any company; they
drive all other Drivers.
Companies known for excellence in one Driver usually excel
in others as well.
- Successful companies like Walmart and Microsoft integrate
the 5 Drivers.
- Different organizational departments or functions tend to
emphasize different Drivers. To have influence within your
company, learn to “speak the language” of people having different
functional responsibilities. Recognize what is important to
them.
- Anything you can do to impact any of the 5 Drivers influences
the big picture. Key questions include, “How can I impact
this Driver and measure the results?”
- As you begin to practice and perfect your business acumen
in more complex situations you will develop the ability to
understand and to impact the big picture.
Kevin Cope is the founder and President of Acumen Learning,
the leader in business
acumen training. Kevin is not only a successful executive,
he's a trusted resource and confidant to top business leaders
from around the world. You can learn more at www.acumenlearning.com
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