--- title: Operational Intelligence, Business Acumen, and Your Strategy description: Business leaders need Business Acumen skills to understand Operational Intelligence so they can effectively assess business situations image: https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/operational-intelligence-business-acumen.png --- [![logo-advantexe-150.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-advantexe-150.png?width=150&height=123&name=logo-advantexe-150.png "logo-advantexe-150.png")](https://www.advantexe.com) ![blog-banner-2022](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-banner-2022.png?width=973&name=blog-banner-2022.png "blog-banner-2022") ### The Advantexe Advisor Blog - providing a deep and applicable understanding of the system of business. # Operational Intelligence, Business Acumen, and Your Strategy By Robert Brodo | May 20, 2016 9:04:01 AM | [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Operational%20Intelligence%2C%20Business%20Acumen%2C%20and%20Your%20Strategy) [![Share on Pinterest](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/pinterest-24x24.png)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Foperational-intelligence-business-acumen-and-your-strategy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) A direct business impact from the less-robust-than-expected global economic growth is the push ![operational-intelligence-business-acumen.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/operational-intelligence-business-acumen.png?width=236&height=234&name=operational-intelligence-business-acumen.png "operational-intelligence-business-acumen.png")from business owners, investors, board members, and executives for business leaders to tighten their belts and become more “Operationally Efficient.” Unfortunately, too many leaders who are told to, or decide to become more operationally efficient don’t have the [Business Acumen](https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen) to know what that really means and confuse it with the strategic value proposition of “Operational Excellence.”  Their misinformed interpretation of Operation Excellence translates into across-the-board cost cutting which ultimately is not strategic, creates misalignment, negative employee engagement, and operational inefficiencies. What these business leaders without the right [Business Acumen](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/defining-business-acumen) are really looking for is something I call “*Operational Intelligence*”.  Very simply, Operational Intelligence is defined as the ability to assess the business situation and fix the things that aren’t working, or are wasteful, in order to execute a real business strategy and value proposition. As part of my continuous research for designing and building dynamic and leading edge [Business Simulations](https://www.advantexe.com/why-business-simulations) for use in our Business Acumen learning journeys, I recently studied several industries and companies within those industries that have struggled with not being very operationally intelligent.  As the diagram below illustrates, there is a distinct pattern: **![operational-inteligence.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/operational-inteligence.png?width=724&height=300&name=operational-inteligence.png "operational-inteligence.png") ** ** ****Survival Mode** The first and most interesting pattern is that companies going through significant change or turmoil such as M&A, Spin-Outs, Economic downturns, etc. don’t realize it but are in survival mode.  Survival mode literally means they are fighting to stay alive and out of bankruptcy.  They slash R&D, Marketing, Sales, and Human Resources to stay afloat. **Operational Intelligence** This is what companies in survival mode should be doing to move from survival mode to the development of a new or updated Value Proposition (strategy) to customers.  Working under the assumption that every function and every process can be more efficient. Operationally Intelligent leaders focus on the areas of most immediate impact that support the strategy and ability to meet short term financial obligations and needs. **Business Process Improvements** Leaders with strong Business Acumen understand they can’t do everything, they can’t fix everything, and they can’t be all things to all customers.  They must focus on those business elements that will have the most profound and immediate impact.  The most typical areas to immediately improve and focus on include: - Sales and Marketing - the overall processes of demand and revenue generation - Customer Service – the flawless execution of the customer experience - Financial management - in the areas of receivables and cash management These thee areas provide the most impact, can become a rallying cry for employee engagement, and focus on the critical business elements needed to move from survival to executing a strong strategy. **Developing the Value Proposition** After moving from survival, to Operational Intelligence, to cleaning things up through coordinated business process improvements, the company can then move forward and choose the most appropriate business strategy to execute.  It is critical to point out that Operational Excellence is a strategy that is all about driving costs out of the system of business to be able to offer customers low prices.  Again, leaders without strong business acumen think it’s just about cutting costs.  That mentality can cause significant damage to a brand; especially brands that relay on a Product Leadership or Customer Intimacy strategy. **Execution** Once the strategy has been developed, the hardest part of this process is execution.  Strong leaders understand that the most successful organizations in the world choose one clear value proposition and are equal to or slightly above the average to their competitors on the other areas and functions of the business.  In other words, it is impossible to be the lowest cost/price, have the best products, and provide the greatest amount of customization and customer service. [![Why Business Acumen Matters ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1153922/ef562d5a-acb6-45df-86ae-098c09e7fcc0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1153922/ef562d5a-acb6-45df-86ae-098c09e7fcc0)   ![Robert Brodo](https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/rob-brodo-author.png) **About The Author** Robert Brodo is co-founder of Advantexe. He has more than 20 years of training and business simulation experience. [**](https://www.advantexe.com) [**](https://twitter.com/robrodo) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rob-brodo/0/334/574) COMMENTS ### SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL ### About Advantexe Advantexe is a gold medal winning training and performance improvement organization specializing in the development and delivery of interactive learning journeys using computer-based business simulations as the catalyst for learning and change in the areas of: Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling learning solutions. 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