Something is happening in the business world as we “zoom” into 2021. Along with all the changes and advances in technology and the way we will work in the future is need for a return to basic and foundational skills like having a strong “Business IQ.”

A Business IQ is the knowledge, skills, and tools related to the competency of Business Acumen. In its simplest form, a Business IQ is understanding everything related to how a business makes money, how my business makes money, how my customers make money, and how my key competitors make money.

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As we move toward “The Next Normal” in a blended, post pandemic reality, there is a growing need for business leaders to refine their approach to delivering value to their customers.

Over the past few months as the impacts of the next normal has started to settle in for many, I have had the unique opportunity to work with hundreds of business professionals as a facilitator helping to develop their future Business Acumen skills. Most of these instances have been as part of virtual talent development engagements that utilize digital business simulations to enable participants to learn-by-doing.

One of the first things participants do when they are promoted to the Executive Leadership Team of their simulated company in a Business Acumen workshop is to determine their strategy, value proposition, and how they are going to play to win. It sounds easy, but it’s extremely difficult to execute. It’s exponentially harder in the “real world.”

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If you are a leader who is responsible for setting and / or executing strategy then you have heard the “experts” (other thought leaders, consultants, academics, etc.) say, “Strategy is also about what you don’t do and in many cases what you don’t do is more important that what you do pursue.”

From Michael Porter to Blue Ocean strategy to Playing to Win, the experts present a process of strategic thinking where you understand your markets, customers, and competitors and then decide on your differentiation in order to execute your business plan. They all say that businesses “can’t be all things to all people,” and that the hardest decisions are the ones where you say “no” to certain opportunities that will confuse the strategy and make it more difficult for companies to execute.

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Over the past 48 hours I have received a significant number of requests to comment on the results of the US election from a Business Acumen perspective. As of this writing, the election is still not resolved, and it may not be for days or weeks ahead. That being said, the requests are still important and it’s my pleasure to share some business acumen insights on what to plan for and how to adjust your strategic thinking and forecasting for 2021 and beyond.

Assuming the current situation of a Biden administration stays in place, it is inevitable that there will be a battle with congress and in business boardrooms over increased corporate taxes. Most large organizations are against raising the corporate tax rate which opens up a philosophical debate about what happens with the tax dollars. Supply-side economists and many executives believe that lower tax rates enable big businesses to take the money they would have spent on taxes and reinvest it into the business in the form of more jobs, more R&D, more sales, more marketing, etc. The other side of the argument challenges the notion that big business will do anything positive with that extra cash and in fact will use it to make the rich richer by keeping it and paying out bonuses and buying back stock. They want to tax the rich and give to the less fortunate.

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Regardless of your political beliefs we can all agree that we have seen and heard things in this election season (and the past for years) that most people never expected or imagined they would see in their lifetimes. The vitriol and nastiness were unprecedented and the lack of civility extremely discouraging. But this blog isn’t about politics or the outcome of the election. It is about how this competitiveness and deterioration of decorum has impacted business and the skills of Business Acumen.

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