July was another extremely busy month in the world of virtual business simulation capability development. Our team had the opportunity to work with hundreds of leaders from around the world delivering customized, virtual learning experiences developing leadership capabilities in the area of Business Acumen.

As our technology and reporting capabilities have advanced, and as we have become more focused on the data analytics that Business Acumen skill development engagements can produce, it is my pleasure to share some interesting trends that can be used to understand and explain some of the behaviors you may be seeing in your organization, within your peers, or within your direct reports.

Here are three unique trends that we have observed and assessed coming out of our post-simulation data analytics:

There are several business books that I have read in my career that have had a profound impact on the way that I think and lead one of the most impactful talent development firms in the world. The first is called “The Discipline of Market Leaders,” by Tracey and Wiersema and the other is “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t,” by James C. Collins. One of the notable takeaways from the book is the quote and now inspirational theme that “Good is the Enemy of Great.” The concept is that too many people and too many organizations “settle” and take short cuts accepting that “good” is good enough and that they don’t need to do the really hard work to be great. Being just good is the enemy of being great.

Leaders use this quote and the other great concepts from the book to inspire, motivate, and lead. And for many it works, and their people and companies are better for it.

As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to spike and the reality that this situation is going to last for at least another year until there is a viable vaccine or an impactful medical treatment, business professionals are now moving on from just embracing the disruption to aggressively embracing the acceleration of a new world. Having enhanced Business Acumen skills will help support and drive the acceleration. This blog examines four significant trends impacting the business world through the lens of the enhanced business acumen capabilities organizations need to survive, thrive, and then accelerate performance.

Four Key Trends  and Beyond

There are four key trends impacting business leaders that require having strong Business Acumen skills to be effective and to ensure the right business decisions are being made.

Remote Everything

It was happening slowly anyway, but this trend has accelerated more than any other trend. We literally woke up one day and everyone was working remotely and unconnected from physical interactions. Physical interactions have been replaced by technology-driven interactions and to everyone’s surprise, there has been many ways relationships and productivity have been accelerated. For example, organizations are getting closer to their customers by having more frequent and more relevant conversations. Before, you would visit with key customers by traveling to see them and often the journey was expensive and exhausting. Now, you can get close to customers, look them in their eyes (virtually with high def), ask them about their families and health, and have real business dialogues.

And that’s where enhanced skills come into play. With more time for quality conversations, it is imperative to have the skills to talk about strategy, financial goals, financial metrics, and the state of the business.

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a year like no other. One of the most significant changes to the process of capabilities development has been the overnight pivot and transformation from in-person classroom learning to virtual learning. Literally overnight, corporate talent development professionals were forced to endure a disrupted model and figure out a way to survive.

Not only has everyone survived, but we have all actually figured out a way to make learning experiences better and more impactful.

The use of virtual business simulations is just one way the disruption has been accepted. Instead of having some tired old talking head drone on with endless PowerPoints, learners are embracing the virtual intimacy of running their own businesses and learning by doing in digital business simulation workshops.