Its earnings call time again! One of my favorite times of a new quarter where executives share the results of their previous quarter and talk about the business outlooks for the rest of the year and beyond.

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Economists, business leaders, individual contributors, and consumers are once again starting to worry about the potentially devastating impacts of inflation. As many businesses focus on building Business Acumen skills as a core competency to help them grow, Advantexe has developed this blog post for business professionals to understand the impending implications of inflation and some of the things they should be thinking and doing about it in this volatile business environment.

What is the root cause of inflation?

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to that question as this, like many other economic factors, has become too politicized. The simplest answer that I can provide is that inflation results from an increase in production costs or an increase in demand for products and services. The situation we find ourselves in today is a result of both these things happening simultaneously. Throw in the threat of World War III and at the very least the economic uncertainties of the global economy, you have a recipe for potentially devastating inflation.

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This past weekend gave us a unique opportunity to watch some of the most elite athletes in the world perform in their primes in both the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.

These sporting events have been phenomenal, and it is such a pleasure watching these amazing athletes perform on the world’s stage under unfathomable pressure.

If there is one consistent theme that comes from these high-level performances is the absolute belief that every one of these athletes has reached their pinnacle of performance through practice, training, and coaching. Over and over, you hear them talking about getting in their “reps” (short for repetitions) and how many times they practiced their performances.

So, if the best athletes in the world can get better by practicing, we can’t business people?

In 2022 and beyond they can and more importantly they should!

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In my last blog on 3 Ways of Improving Days Sales Outstanding, I shared thoughts and insight on one of the newer metrics of financial management that many organizations are focusing on. I was fascinated by the response and had several great conversations about it and how the information was helpful in terms of immediate application to the decision-making required to improve the DSO.

One of the conversations I had with a former business acumen workshop participant who is a Supply Chain leader led to an interesting dialogue on another related topic called the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) and this blog will share some interesting content on that emerging concept as well.

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If you are a functional business leader planning and executing your strategy for 2022, things are extremely different than they were just a year ago. As we start this new year, businesses are faced with unprecedented continuous disruptions that are forcing the best companies to be more resilient, focused, and skilled than ever. The COVID pandemic which looks like it will last for years, supply chain issues, inflation, geopolitical issues, and continued globalization are some of the big issues forcing leaders to think differently.

By now, everyone had been working on and building their resilience. The new normal of working has given organizations the opportunity to focus on ways that previously were simply unimaginable. But interestingly enough, skill development, especially in the area of Business Acumen, hasn’t kept up at the same pace.

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