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Defining Business Acumen

What are the defining characteristics of the leaders you most admire? Odds are you’ve just described leaders with traits U-M EE defines as good business acumen. Sharp leaders that can quickly size up and deal with a business situation are often the ones we hold in highest regard and model our behavior after. Whether their talent is innate, obtained through lifelong experience or developed in the classroom, the ability to integrate business knowledge, leadership skills and management processes is a highly-desirable and sought-after skill.

Dr. Ray Reilly ,the original architect the Business Acumen program at the University of Michigan– tells us the best way to start honing in on business acumen is through careful examination of the leaders we want to model. He challenges participants in Business Acumen to get inside the thought processes that are used by the most successful business leaders by delving in to these questions , drawing on disciplines such as economics, philosophy, sociology and physics:

• How do they make sense of the complex and dynamic markets where they do business?
• How do they develop the insight that enables them to focus attention on critical success factors?
• How do they communicate their insight and understanding to others in the organization? 
• How do they sustain the energy needed to deal with setbacks and still drive the company to success?

Professor Reilly contends that those with good business acumen consistently exhibit three key traits:

• Mindfulness. Confidence in oneself with willingness to learn, ensuring your thinking is as fresh as possible.
• Sense making. Ability to build a framework, understanding the connection of all parts of a business challenge and gathering good insight into the future.
• Resilience. Possess the necessary improvisation skills, avoiding over caution and over confidence while rusting the work of others to help you achieve your goals.

With these questions and traits in mind, Dr. Reilly suggests leaders analyze a business challenge from their own company and consider how their role model may address it differently.

"This exercise can really help aspiring leaders pay attention to their managerial thought processes," says Professor Reilly. "It arms them with their own list of 'dos' and 'don'ts' for the next time they need to size up and deal with a business situation."

Help take your organization to the next level. Learn more about upcoming Business Acumen programs and strengthen your strategic thinking.

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