After 18 months of delivering virtual simulation-based Business Acumen programs to more than 5,000 participants, I was astounded by the results and outcomes coming from the High Potential Leader program just completed with a global audience of a specialty equipment manufacturing company.

What astounded me was the level of efficiency from the team of 4 representing four different functions within the business spread out over 3 different continents. When I talk about “efficiency”, I am referring to the ability of this one team of leaders to finish their learning experience, mainly a business simulation exercise where they were running their own business, in about 75% of the time allocated and with spectacular results. Most teams we work with run out of time because they don’t yet have the discipline to avoid analysis paralysis.

In all my years of conducting similar training programs, I have never seen anything like this. After the program was over, I set up an interview with the team to try to discover what made them so special and unique. What they shared are very valuable lessons of leadership development and business strategy execution.

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As many businesses make their talent development plans for 2022, the disruption of the global pandemic has caused many to rethink their talent strategies and the methods used to deliver the training that will build the skills needed to execute the business strategy and achieve their goals and objectives.

As an active member of the Talent Development community for more than 30 years, and with great experience in all technologies related to training, I am pleased to share some perspectives and insights in a plus/minus analysis of three primary methods of delivering training as guidance for those thinking through their approaches.

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That was a quote from a participant working on a small team taking the roles of executives going through a business simulation experience that was focused on developing strategic, financial, and leadership skills. In the group learning discussion, she went on to ask, “After successfully going through a disruption, when is it time to take a break and enjoy the fruits of our labor?”

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For many business professionals adapting to the new normal, the sense of time has changed dramatically. There are still many days stuck together where Monday is Tuesday and Tuesday morphs into Thursday with the only real way of telling the date and time is to keep a calendar open on your desktop.

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I think I shocked the participants of the high-potential leader program I was leading this week. “Rob, what is the most important Business Acumen Skill we will need going into 2022?” was the question in the virtual classroom. I am sure they were thinking I would answer something related to strategy, competitive analysis, or ways to drive increased shareholder value.

My answer, better forecasting skills, isn’t as sexy but in actuality contains all of the above in the impact it makes. You can only execute your strategy, understand your competition, and make the best decisions to drive shareholder value if you are forecasting well and effectively.

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