Developing Business Acumen (2016)

Having business acumen means understanding how your business operates. If you are interested in moving up in an organization, you need to understand what your organization's competitive advantage is, what drives performance, and how you compete against other organizations. This knowledge helps you exercise good judgment when making business decisions. In this course, leadership expert Mike Figliuolo explains the most common business topics and terms you need to be familiar with—business models, financials, strategy, sales and marketing, R&D, P&L, EBITDA, and other key concepts. He leads you through a series of questions that will help you understand your business better, such as:

What business are you in?
What's your market and who is your competition?
What problem does your business solve?
How are your products and services created?
What are your pricing and growth strategies?
How do you measure performance?


With the answers in hand, you can be assured your have the knowledge to make the best decisions for your business.


Learning objectives
Define and explain business acumen.
Describe different types of growth horizons.
Identify critical elements of knowing your business.
Explain the effects of price changes on profits.
List common growth methods.
Evaluate your initiative pipeline.
Define common business terms.
Assess trends and your competitive environment.