The R&D leader was genuinely perplexed and astonished. “Wait, let me get this straight. Our company spends as much money on Marketing and Sales as we do on R&D? I don’t believe it. My team works on developing the most innovative products on the world. They should sell themselves. Why do we need to waste all that money on “Commercial” when everyone knows that we need more money for product development!

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One of the many realizations about our “new normal” is that speed matters more than ever. I was  interviewing a CEO of a large global company today as part of the process to tailor an upcoming Business Acumen program for his direct reports. Within the first few moments, I could feel the instant connection in terms of the way he though about strategy and the way we design our Business Acumen and business simulation solutions. I could also sense that he had an intuitive feel for the rhythm of his business and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead during the rest of 2020 and into 2021.

Seasoned executives like this CEO know how often to make certain decisions, how hard to drive specific objectives, and how quickly to react to changing circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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5 suggestions on what new hires should be able to do when starting a new job

In my work designing, developing, and delivering award-winning Business Acumen learning journeys I am continuously reminded by clients of one of their biggest talent development conundrums; “How do we get our incredibly gifted and bright new hires to have a foundational idea about business, what we do, and how to impact results?”

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The velocity of change is increasing.  As we all know, it is a 24/7 global business world and the expectations have never been higher.  Are you ready for 2016?  Business leaders and shareholders expect stronger performance and organizations need even more advanced business acumen skills to survive (let alone thrive).  Based on our experiences and predictions, here are five business acumen tips for 2016:

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Over the past few years, many business organizations have evolved their selling approach by moving from a “Consultative Selling” approach to “Challenger Selling” approach.  A Challenger-type sales person is supposed to deeply understand and “challenge” the customer’s business approach by presenting solutions that customers don’t know they need yet.

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