--- title: The Positives and Negatives of “Pop-In” Business Acumen Training description: Is it possible to train 125 leaders on the topic of business acumen in 2 hours? Learn how Advantexe helped a client with focused workshops image: https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/pop-up-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. # The Positives and Negatives of “Pop-In” Business Acumen Training By Robert Brodo | Feb 25, 2016 8:32:52 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%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%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%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%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%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=The%20Positives%20and%20Negatives%20of%20%E2%80%9CPop-In%E2%80%9D%20Business%20Acumen%20Training) [![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%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%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%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-positives-and-negatives-of-pop-in-business-acumen-training%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ![pop-up-business-acumen.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/pop-up-business-acumen.png?width=700&height=185&name=pop-up-business-acumen.png "pop-up-business-acumen.png") The Business Leader on the phone was serious; “*Can you do a ‘Pop-In’ [business acumen training](https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen) module for like 2 hours on the final day of our Global Leadership Meeting?”* I thought I knew what he talking about, but I had to clarify exactly what he meant by the use of the term “Pop-In Module.” “*Oh, you know, just Pop In for a couple of hours and teach them everything they need to know about business acumen.  You can do that, right?”* Well, no it is impossible to train 125 global leaders on the topic of business acumen in 2 hours (for a deeper definition, please review our article [Defining Business Acumen](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/defining-business-acumen)).  Business Acumen is a complex topic that includes a deep understanding and application of: - Your industry - How to make money from a P&L perspective - How a business is financed (the balance sheet) - Your local market dynamics - How to drive shareholder value - How to impact positive cash flow - How to work collaboratively across functions - How to analyze data - How to use good business judgement - How to think strategically - How to execute strategy I asked a few more questions to clarify exactly what he wanted to see if there was some sort of reasonable and realistic solution.  “We are bringing our top 50 leaders together and I wanted to focus on some business acumen skill building.  We are going to talk about our value, our strategy, and then each business is going to give a 30 minute update presentation on their business during the three days.” As he was talking, I started thinking about professional athletes like Serena Williams.  Serena Williams is one of the most gifted and successful athletes of our time and is known for her relentless training and practice.  The reason I thought of Serena Williams at that moment was because this request from the Business Manager is analogous to Serena Williams getting ready for the US Open with one practice.  A professional athlete practices 2-4 hours a day and during that time, they work of their entire game and then elements of their game such as the backhand, drop shot, and serve. With that in mind, I asked the client to identify one element of business acumen to focus on for a “Business Workout”; I asked him what is their current biggest challenge and he responded “Execution.” Perfect!  I responded that I would be very happy to do a “Pop-In” module on the business acumen topic of how to execute strategy.  I proposed – and the client accepted – a 25 minute discussion module on frameworks of execution, a 65 minute business simulation exercise called Leading Strategic Execution, and a 40 minute debrief and application back to the job discussion. Then session went extremely well and providing some insights into the strengths and weaknesses of “Pop-In” training.  Here are three positives and negatives to think about: **Positive** - **Supports the context and can integrate with other elements of a meeting or training session** A pop-in training can help support the context of the meeting being held and can also integrate directly with the context for immediate application. - **You can accomplish positive learning of new skills in a focused time frame** It’s very hard taking people away from their jobs for meetings and then again for training. But, when you combine the two, you achieve strong efficiencies in time and budget. - **Leaders and can actively participate, coach and apply immediately** When you “send someone off for training,” their manager is usually not there. When you conduct a pop-in training during a business meeting, leaders can actively coach and immediately apply new skills. **Negative** - **Not enough time for real depth of learning** You have to manage your expectations; you can’t jam 40 hours of hard learning into two; when you run a pop-in training there is the risk that you don’t really have enough time. - **No real accountability for learning or application of new skills** In a larger, more formal training setting, participants are usually accountable to applying their new skills.  In a pop-in training session, it’s hard holding participants accountable for a two hour training module. - **Difficulties in integrating** The worst thing you can have happen with a pop-in training session is that it doesn’t fit; that participants feel that you just threw something in there to say you did some training. [![Business Acumen for Sales Professionals](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1153922/b890ead9-dc93-4e95-9e73-755a0fc4ee3d.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1153922/b890ead9-dc93-4e95-9e73-755a0fc4ee3d)   ![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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